Franck CFA (CFA)

The main articles are:

• French Foreign Policy
• Africa

The CFA Franc (CFA) is a common currency within the economic and monetary zone of West and Central Africa, created on December 26, 1945 after France ratified the Bretton Woods Agreements.

The abbreviation CFA reflects the subordinate attitude of African countries to the metropolis. The currency name is composed of the initial letters of the words colonies françaises d'Afrique (CFA), which translates to "French African colonies." After the liberation of African countries from colonial dependence, this abbreviation remained, but in West Africa it began to be presented as Communauté financière africaine ("African Financial Community"), and in Central African countries as Coopération financière en Afrique Centrale ("Financial Cooperation in Central Africa").

The currencies of other colonial empires - Britain with its sterling zone or Portugal with its escudo zone - disappeared with the countries gaining independence. And the CFA franc is still a continuation of the monetary power of Paris.

Issue through the Central Bank of West African States, whose reserves are stored in the French Treasury

The Official Emission Centre of the Union Zone (EEA) is the Central Bank of West African States, which holds its reserves in an operating account in the Treasury. France

How France exploits Africa via franc

In addition to the production of banknotes and coins, it is the French government that decides on the exchange rate of this currency. This contradicts the principles UN that lie in the right to sovereignty, including in the monetary system. Such a system provides easy currency exchange, which contributes to an additional leakage of capital from the countries of the continent - usually to European ones. banks According to experts for 2020, the net outflow of funds from African countries was about $1 trillion per year.

The CFA franc is not internationally recognized and therefore requires conversion to euro or dollar. This factor forces African companies and states to give some of the money to convert currency. Even within Africa, the calculation is not in local currencies, but indirectly.

The Review of African Political Economy writes: the level of monetary sovereignty is determined by the type of currency that the government uses, combined with the level of its debt in foreign currency. Thus, the African countries of the CFA zone are at the very bottom of this monetary hierarchy, because the exchange rate of their currency is tied to the euro, and all the countries of the zone have a significant external debt.

According to Ali Zafar, economic adviser and head of the UNDP Development Policy Research Center, the binding of the CFA franc to such a strong currency as the euro is not justified in terms of development, since this leads to chronic overvaluation. Consequently, this peg acts as an export tax on countries using the CFA franc and as a subsidy on their imports. One method of eliminating the peg could be to replace the indexation of the franc against the euro with a peg to a basket of currencies.

Thus, the CFA franc is a good currency for those who benefit from it. These are large French and foreign corporations, central bankers of the zone, elites who want to repatriate wealth received legally or otherwise, heads of state who do not want to upset France. But for those hoping to export competitive products, get affordable loans, work to integrate continental trade, or fight for a free Africa, the CFA franc is a relic of the past that requires orderly liquidation.

Franc zone membership is synonymous with poverty and underemployment, as evidenced by the fact that 11 of the 15 countries in the zone are among the least developed countries.

Which countries are forced to use CFA

The structure of the franc zone has undergone several changes over a long time. As of 2024, its zone consists of 14 states, each of which is part of one of two currency unions.

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEA) includes:

• Benin,
• Burkina Faso,
• Kot-d,
• Guinea-Bissau,
• Mali,
• Niger,
• Senegal and
• Togo.

The Central African Economic and Monetary Union (CEMAC) includes:

• Cameroon,
• Central African Republic,
• Chad,
• Republic of Congo,
• Equatorial Guinea and
• Gabon.

France forces African countries to use CFA franc

France has never wavered, overthrowing and killing African heads of state eager to withdraw from the CFA system. Most of them were removed from office in favor of more obedient leaders. Moreover, due to the desire of African countries to withdraw from the CFA franc zone, Paris conducted 40 military operations.