Is There a Legal Limit on Cash You Can Keep or Carry?
Here’s the kicker: there is actually no law in France that sets a hard limit on how much cash you can keep at home or in your pocket. In theory, you could walk around with thousands of euros without breaking the law. But, as always, reality is a bit more complicated. You first need to distinguish between simply walking down the street with cash and crossing an international border with it.
French monetary legislation states that anyone entering or leaving a European Union country must declare what they’re carrying if the total value reaches or exceeds €10,000 (that’s roughly £8,500 or $11,000, for reference). This applies not only to cash, but also to gold, bearer cheques, and money orders. It’s worth noting that this €10,000 threshold applies to the cumulative cash carried by married or civil-union couples as well; their wealth is presumed to be joint unless they can prove otherwise—say, for example, with a marriage contract.
Keeping Cash at Home: The Rules (and the Gray Areas)
The law doesn’t set a maximum amount you can lawfully keep at home. There’s a catch, though: you need to be able to justify where that money came from. If you’re diligent in declaring both the amount and origin of the money stashed under your mattress to the tax authorities, there’s technically no limit. If you don’t, however, French authorities generally tolerate up to €10,000 at home. Beyond that, the courts may presume the hidden stash is tied to tax evasion or money laundering. Not the vibe you want to be giving off during an audit, obviously!
Why the Law Isn’t Written in Stone
The reason that there’s no universal, set-in-stone limit for keeping cash is that context matters. Authorities will view an undeclared €10,000 at the home of a well-to-do household very differently than they would at the home of someone with very limited income. That’s because, for lower-income individuals, the source of such a sum would be much more questionable. They’ll also consider what other valuables you have—gold, jewelry, luxury furniture, and so on. Along the same lines, if you’re strolling around town with a briefcase stuffed with tens of thousands of euros, you’d better have a solid explanation ready in case the police stop you.
- Cross-border cash limit: €10,000 or more must be declared when entering or leaving the EU.
- At home cash stash: No legal cap—so long as you can legitimize its origin for the tax authorities.
- Red flags: Amounts above €10,000 that aren’t declared or justified may look suspicious and could lead to legal trouble.
Bottom line: France may love its high-tech payment solutions, but cash is still very much part of daily life. If you want to keep your savings in your sock drawer, technically, that’s your business—as long as you can prove those rolled-up bills didn’t just drop from the sky.
