35 Ecu de Valence [26]

Valence's municipal ecu issues of the 1990s belong to a brief, peculiar episode in French monetary history: the years immediately preceding the euro, when dozens of towns and regional bodies issued quasi-currency ecus as both local promotional instruments and veiled political commentary on European integration. These were not legal tender, but circulated locally through participating merchants under agreements that skirted the Banque de France's monopoly on circulating coinage.

The "35 ecu" denomination reflects Valence's latitude — 44°N — rounded to the nearest unit under the geographic valuation system some municipalities adopted to differentiate their issues.