France/La Graine cherche à germer: how to breathe new life into Montpellier's local currency?

As Montpellier hosts the 8th Rencontres des monnaies locales territoriales on Friday, aimed at promoting sustainable consumption and boosting the local and circular economy, zoom in on the Graine, launched in 2018.

What if you did your shopping or bought your books, your cinema ticket or paid your restaurant bill in... "Seeds"? It's very serious, and above all, it's possible. In the Montpellier metropolitan area and elsewhere in the Hérault region, the Graine is a local currency, like the "Sol-Violette" in Toulouse, the "Moneko" in Nantes or the "Eusko" in the Basque country. It's a local, citizen-based, circular currency. In other words, it's a way of "retaining monetary flows on a local scale, rather than seeing them fly off to greedy multinationals", notes Bruno Paternot.Bruno Paternot, vice-president of the Metropole de Montpellier, is very committed to the development of this local currency. It is listed as a complementary currency, as it is not intended to replace the euro.

In fact, this way of consuming was set up to avoid capital flight, but above all to encourage sustainable practices by favoring short circuits. For example," notes the ecologist,"we'll be able to offer Christmas gift vouchers in Graines. Instead of buying an Amazon card, this will allow us to support organic, local and seasonal retailers".

Around 75,000 Graines in circulation

The principle is quite simple: all you have to do is join an association, exchange euros for Graines (€1 is worth 1 Graine), and pay retailers committed to ethical, social or environmental practices who accept them.

There are around 75,000 Graines in circulation in France. This is still a small number compared with the 4 million units of Basque Eusko, its 4,000 regular users and its 1,400 professionals committed to a sustainable approach. La Graine de Montpellier, created in 2018, is still only accepted by 160 retailers for around 600 users. Modest, but making progress... slowly.

A question of philosophy

At the Jeu de Paume Biocoop supermarket, manager Théo Cizeron didn't take long to convince himself to adopt it: "Our philosophies are similar. We have a militant clientele in our stores, and it's a form of commitment to which we subscribe". Even so, he only receives around a thousand Graines a month. Barely 0.2% of his sales. Above all, it's difficult for him to keep the change in the circuit: "We used to be able to pay our energy supplier Enercoop in Graines, but that's no longer possible today". As a result, he has to convert the accumulated Graine back into euros. This automatically generates currency for the circular economy.

Another difficulty for retailers is giving change: " Often, you have to make up the difference or pay with two methods of payment," notes Théo Cizeron. This is why, in addition to paper money, there is now a dematerialized version which has been around since August 2024. This allows you to pay in Graine to the nearest cent from your cell phone.

At the hairdresser's or for a beer

Six years after its launch, the currency is looking for a second wind to become a truly virtuous financial tool: "This will involve increasing the number of businesses that accept it," agrees Bruno Paternot. And the number of members who hold it. Recently, 13 elected representatives of the City of Montpellier agreed to receive part of their allowances in Graines. Marie Massart, elected representative for the city's food policy, receives 160 seeds a month: "As I already consume in a virtuous way in my daily purchases, it encourages me to look at which restaurants take it. And I appreciate that I can also use it in a bookshop or at Utopia".

Bruno Paternot receives 200 Graines: "I don't have the instinct to hoard, so I spend them every month with retailers. I can go to the hairdresser or even have a craft beer at Novelty", he says.

The 80 local currencies listed in France since their creation in 2010 will be taking part in the 8th Rencontres des monnaies locales territoriales at the Théâtre Jean-Vilar. Because it's not just the Seed that wants to germinate...

For further information, a list of retailers who accept the Graine and membership of the association, click on the La Graine 34 link.