France and Germany Want to Nix Libra

It's never a good time to be a Facebook cryptocurrency in Europe, but last week was especially rough for Libra. Finance ministers are making even EU digital czar Margrethe Vestager blush in their criticism of the token.

France's Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire said Thursday his country would block Libra's development in Europe. At an OECD blockchain shindig, Le Maire said Libra "can't and…must not happen" with more conviction than Taylor Swift said we're never getting back together.

Germany agrees with France

On Friday, the two countries issued a joint statement saying they would not allow Libra to operate in the EU. Here's a sentence straight out of International Relations 101: "No private entity can claim monetary power, which is inherent to the sovereignty of nations."

Bottom line: 26.7% of the world's population is an active monthly user of Facebook, WhatsApp by Facebook, or Instagram by Facebook. Given this global reach—and annual revenue that beats out Serbia's GDP—skeptical finance ministers are worried the Libra play will undermine their authority.

+ While we're here: Libra has a date today with officials from 26 central banks (including the Fed) in Switzerland to address concerns over its potential threats to financial stability.