QLet’s face it, some people still have faith in the CFA franc. This currency common to fifteen African countries, indexed to the euro and guaranteed by France, has established itself as a safe haven in Nigeria and Ghana due to the collapse, in recent years, of their own currencies, the naira and on cedi. In comparison, the stability and convertibility of the CFA franc make it an asset sought after by businessmen and traders, who care little about the controversies relating to this “colonial relic”.
In fact, the common currency played a rather protective role in the face of the turbulence of the global economy. While the sudden surge in interest rates and the dollar rhymed with brutal currency depreciations and galloping inflation in a large part of the continent, parity with the euro limited slippage within the franc zone. Prices have increased less quickly than elsewhere, the risks of over-indebtedness have remained more contained there.
So much for the facts. But all the economic reasoning in the world will not succeed in erasing the unpopularity of this currency, whose acronym meant until 1958 “franc of the French colonies of Africa”. More than sixty years after independence, its many detractors portray it as the ultimate legacy of “Françafrique”, perpetuating the domination of Paris over its former possessions.
“Eighty percent, maybe even 90% of young Africans think we need to get out of the CFA franc”asserted Cameroonian entrepreneur William Elong, interviewed by Radio France Internationale (RFI) and Young Africa on January 12. This drone specialist, who was the youngest graduate of the School of Economic Warfare in Paris, was reacting to the ambition attributed to the juntas that rule Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to leave the franc zone to create their own currency . “A wonderful idea”according to Mr. Elong.
Drawing a new roadmap
How much credit should we give to such a project? To date, this has been little more than sketched out by the putschists in power in Bamako, Ouagadougou and Niamey. United since September 2023 within an Alliance of Sahel States, the three countries have limited themselves to indicating their desire to deepen their economic and monetary cooperation. But, against a backdrop of sovereignist rhetoric, the allusion was widely interpreted as the intention to abandon the CFA franc. On social networks, many West African Internet users are already imagining the imminent birth of a central bank for the Sahel States…
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