I like this a lot:

A lavish wedding in a French town which saw the happy couple showered in confetti made from shredded euro notes has caused outrage.

Residents of the southern town of Sete were up in arms after the bride and groom were covered in confetti made from 5, 10, 20 and 50 euro notes.

I think in the states there would be an uproar, but more of the 'what an idiot' kind than any sort of legal ruckus. And once people found out the bills had been destined for destruction, they wouldn't care anymore - witness what the Federal Reserve does (as explained by Abby Wong of the Federal Reserve Bank in Los Angeles to Pulse Planet):

Where you might see the products of shredded currency today, could be in novelty items, if you see then inside pens, you might see them inside a little bag sold somewhere. We've also seen them inside teddy bears. Typically you're going to see them on roofs - wood shingles on roofs, freeway panels will have a little green tint, sound panels will also have that green tint. You might see them in a fire log in a fireplace...

You can get all the details on the bill-shredding wedding here.

I think it's illegal to burn, rip or do anything destructive to legal tender in France. Kind of like the American flag to you guys, I guess. Anaïs

After reading your blog entry I read about this on the Libé site. I admit I had to go looking for it.

http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/societe/196418.FR.php

I was almost more shocked to read the readers' comments below the article.

It is not against the law to burn or destroy legal tender in France. It is certainly frowned upon. But not illegal. One of the most famous instances in recent history is an infamous event: Serge Gainsbourg lit a 500 franc bill and let it burn on live television a few years back saying he preferred to burn it than give it to the government in taxes. That causes quite an uproar for years and years!

What I am amazed when reading the comments about this "event", both in the anglophone and the francophone press, is the seeming disregard for the fact that these were bills which were destined to be destroyed. They are bills which came from the "Banque de France" in Montpellier and were marked for destruction. They were therefore already not legal tender. Bills marked for destruction go back to being simple paper with printing. In this case, as we in Europe have different colours and sizes for our different bills, they make for great confetti!