THE EXHIBITION “FAKE! SPOTLIGHT ON COUNTERFEIT GOODS”

The Banque de France and the ECB contributed to the organisation of the exhibition “Fake! Spotlight on counterfeit goods”, held at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris between 20 April 2010 and 13 February 2011.

The exhibition focuses on counterfeiting and its legal and geopolitical dimensions in a world where digital networks and trade globalisation are constantly developing. It also reveals some of the methods and techniques employed in the fight against counterfeit money and explains the role all citizens can play in this battle.

The Banque de France participated in providing training to the guides of the Cité des Sciences on the subject of banknote counterfeiting and lent a number of objects to the exhibition, such as a “genuine” fake banknote by Bojarski, the famous forger. It also distributed, in conjunction with the ECB, a teaching kit on the euro for primary school children. Lastly, it produced and distributed a new leaflet on banknote authentication entitled “Checking your banknotes is “monnaie courante” ”.