Distributing between seven and 10 billion euro coins poses a far greater logistical challenge than putting 1.4 billion euro banknotes into circulation, according to the Banque de France.

Banknotes will not be delivered until December, in packets of 1,000 - except for high denominations, which will be grouped by the hundred.

The pre-supply of coins began this week, as armoured trucks and special trains with military escorts fanned out from the mint at Pessac, near Bordeaux, delivering 100 tonnes of money - about four billion coins - to five national centres and 80 secondary sites.

The fear of robbery is so great that, according to the Canard EnchaȨnΘ, guards at these ZMS (Sensitive Military Zones) are allowed to shoot on sight.

Between three and six billion more coins will be put into circulation early next year. The national centres will also be used to collect defunct franc coins.

A top-secret plan for the "Vigie-euro" operation was approved at a cabinet meeting on May 23rd, and involves the police, gendarmerie and army. They will guard trains and those truck convoys without armour, 85 distribution centres and 50,000 retail banks, post offices and treasury offices, where the public will purchase euros.

Euro coins will be available in three forms. For the general public, 53 million envelopes - an average of two per French household - called "first euros" will go on sale on December 14th. They can be ordered by banks in units of 20 envelopes, each containing 40 coins and costing 100 French francs or €15.24 (£12).

The Banque de France is preparing 1.5 million "standard cash register" kits for bakeries, newspaper kiosks, tobacco shops and other small businesses. These will be available from December 1st and contain two rolls of each coin denomination, for a total of €222.

For businesses, coin rolls and banknotes will also be available α la carte from December 1st.

Big supermarkets will receive theirs via privately hired security companies - which are overbooked until early 2002. Smaller businesses will collect theirs from the local bank. Anyone caught using the new currency before January 1st will be fined.

France will fall short of Finance Minister Laurent Fabius' goal of 70 per cent of transactions in euros by September, with only 1.9 per cent of the cheques signed last month in euros.