cyrillic as well as in the latin and greek alphabets. today, 332 million people in 17 countries use euro banknotes every day. and worldwide, the value of euro banknotes circulating is roughly the same as that of us dollar bills. last month that value was almost 913 billion euro, with around one - quarter of that value circulating outside the euro area, notably in its neighbouring regions. the euro is in fact being increasingly used as a global currency and its banknotes have been circulating inside and outside europe with ease. with 15. 7 billion of them in circulation, euro banknotes are a success story. however, we do not rest on our laurels. the ecb strives to ensure that the banknotes are steadily developed and enhanced, and are “ state of the art ” in terms of security and technology. the europa series will be “ smarter ” and even more secure than the current series. the new 5 euro banknote will be issued throughout the euro area as of 2 may this year. for the next two months it will be on display here as part of the “ new face of the euro ” exhibition. the exhibition also includes the vase from which the portrait of europa was taken. i would like to thank very much the louvre museum in paris for the loan of this ancient artefact, which is over 2, 000 years old. bis central bankers ’ speeches let me also express on this occasion our thanks to mr gerstetter, the designer of the europa series, who is with us today. without further ado, let me now sign the first 5 euro note of the europa series. bis central bankers ’ speeches

but we should not forget that some divergence is quite normal. for instance, with countries still in a process of catching - up in terms of productivity and living standards, there will be some natural and even warranted divergence in growth and inflation in the course of this process. while the single monetary policy is determined by developments in the euro area as a whole, looking also at the performance in the individual member states is necessary to gain a better understanding of area - wide developments.... and the outlook for the french economy with this in mind, let me now say something about the outlook for the french economy - and to point out that it is indeed favourable. the cyclical developments in france combine moderate inflation, below the euro area average, and strong economic growth, above the euro area average. towards the end of the decade, france has thus contributed to a great extent to stabilising the prospects of the euro area economy. in particular last year, and in contrast with other large economies of the area, the french economy has proved resilient in terms of activity and stable in terms of prices. looking at the headline figures for 1999, an estimated 3. 2 % real gdp growth for the fourth quarter and a 0. 6 % annual average increase in consumer prices, the conclusion can be drawn that economic agents in france have so far successfully adapted to the new euro - wide macroeconomic context associated with the single monetary policy. with a view to the near future, available indicators and forecasts suggest similarly favourable prospects for france as for the euro area as a whole. according to recent results from industrial and consumer surveys, both entrepreneurs and households remain confident about their short - term prospects. the optimism of the latter is best reflected in the historically high level of consumer confidence and stems partly from the on - going improvement of the situation on the labour market. household consumption, which has been resilient in 1999 despite the temporary economic slowdown, is therefore expected to continue to grow rapidly this year. as far as enterprises are concerned, business confidence is in line with the historically high levels reached in 1998 and entrepreneurs have kept on signalling well - filled order books. with capacity utilisation rates some 2 percentage points above their long - term average, the overall positive environment can be expected to contribute to dynamic investment expenditure. this would be reinforced by other major determinants for investment. irrespective of the positive influence of monetary policy on financing conditions, companies ’ financial positions can indeed be expected