France became the first country to mint euros Monday just over a week after European Union leaders sealed a messy deal on France's role in the new European Central Bank.

The first euros to be produced anywhere emerged shortly after 1 p.m., seconds after French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn, smiling broadly, set the machinery in motion at the French Mint's coin stamping plant near Bordeaux. The start of the euro mint run heralds the demise of the French franc and the 10 other currencies that have joined the euro's first wave.

(c) Reuters