History
On January 1, 2002, euro coins and banknotes arrived simultaneously in twelve countries. France had already been using the euro as non-cash currency since 1999; its residents then said goodbye to the franc.
For the tenth anniversary, all Eurozone countries struck the same coin, chosen by Eurozone citizens. The design is by Helmut Andexlinger of the Austrian Mint: only the country name changes from one version to another. Therefore, it is not a design specific to France: it is a common coin, issued by each country.
France issued it in January 2012. It is not the only French 2 euro coin of the year: Abbé Pierre followed in July, minted in one million pieces.