Sept. 12 (UPI) -- France's economy and finance minister warned Thursday that he plans to block Facebook's forthcoming cryptocurrency, the Libra, from being used in Europe.

Bruno Le Maire made the remarks at the start of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development conference in Paris Thursday.


Facebook, which has faced mounting scrutiny and penalties in Europe over privacy concerns, announced the Libra in June and said it will launch next year. The digital currency will be run by a nonprofit, separate from its popular social media platform, the social media giant said

Those assurances haven't satisfied Le Maire, however.

"I want to be absolutely clear: In these conditions, we cannot authorize the development of Libra on European soil," he said.

Le Maire said in July the proposed cryptocurrency must comply with the same rules as other currencies.

"I think there is a need for regulation," he said at the time. "We cannot accept to have a new currency, having exactly the same kind of power (as other currencies) without having the same kind of rules, commitments."

The Libra is designed to differ from other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin by using a more centralized infrastructure. Facebook said it intends the Libra to be used across its platforms, like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.