500 Francs - Pierre & Marie Curie type 1993

Roger Pfund's design for this series broke sharply from the classical engraved style that had defined Banque de France issues for generations. Pfund, a Swiss designer and artist, brought a deliberately painterly, layered aesthetic — unusual for a central bank that had long favored the precision of intaglio line engraving as both an artistic and anti-counterfeiting standard.

The note honored both Pierre and Marie Curie jointly, a pairing that acknowledged Marie's foundational role in the discovery of radioactivity rather than subordinating her to her husband's name — a point that attracted real public attention at the time of introduction. She remains one of very few women to have appeared on a Banque de France note.

Production ran at the Chamalières facility through the final years before euro adoption rendered the entire franc series obsolete by 2002.