«C’est fait. On a sauté le pas. Ce qu’on entend tinter au fond de nos poches, ce ne sont plus des Francs mais des Euros. Bientôt, tout cela nous semblera d’une banalité affolante, d’une normalité absolue. La génération de nos parents avait franchi le guet entre l’ancien et le nouveau Franc, la nôtre restera celle de la monnaie unique. Avec en arrière plan l’ouverture des frontières et, on l’espère des esprits...»

"It’s done. We’ve leaped into it. What we hear ringing at the bottom of our pockets are not Francs anymore but Euros. In two months time, nothing will seem more normal, more ordinary. Our parents generation had done it with the change from ancient to new francs. Ours will be the generation of the single currency. Coming up is also the opening of frontiers and, we hope, of mentalities. Fashion had preceded the movement a long time ago. It has crossed the barriers of styles and clans and has put everything together into a giant shaker. Result: trends de not only stand side by side, they mix..."