[grkvlt]

> Banknotes have a number and in France they are probably renewed after 2 payments in average

France is a Euro area country, and only withdraws notes after they are too dirty or damaged to be usable, in line with ECB policy.

> If you take cash from an ATM and use it to pay a criminal [...] the number will be traced.

I very much doubt this.

[aragot]

But they loop back through the bank in between. They usually go from the ATM to the bakery, who gives them back to the bank. It's only after many cycles that they're retired.