Most Togolese believe the CFA franc mainly serves French interests

Evidence

Since the publication of the French version of this book in September 2018, the CFA franc has become a major topic within public debate in French-speaking Africa and beyond. This greater media and political visibility, a major achievement in light of a long history marked by secrecy and repression, is to the credit of pan-Africanist movements, economists, intellectuals, etc. from the continent and the diaspora. Their mobilisation, amplified every day by social networks, has contributed to raising awareness among a growing number of African citizens about the misdeeds of the last colonial currency still circulating on the continent. As proof of the important work of political education that has been carried out, a recent poll shows that 66 per cent of Togolese believe that the CFA franc benefits mainly French interests. The same proportion of respondents believe that it should be abolished. — Fanny Pigeaud_ Ndongo Samba Sylla, Africa’s Last Colonial Currency, 371

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The CFA franc functions as a political instrument of pressure over 15 African states.; Two-thirds of Togolese believe the CFA franc should be abolished; The CFA franc is the central weapon of Françafrique’s neocolonial domination (+5 more)

Related

• Two-thirds of Togolese believe the CFA franc should be abolished (similarity 0.96)
• The CFA system gives France instruments to steer franc-zone politics (similarity 0.92)
• The CFA franc persists because French and African elite interests both benefit. (similarity 0.88)
• The CFA franc persists because French and African elites both profit from it (similarity 0.86)
• The CFA guarantee arrangement secretly benefits France at Africa’s expense (similarity 0.85)
• The CFA franc is the central weapon of Françafrique’s neocolonial domination (similarity 0.85)
• The CFA franc gives France instruments to control the politics of 15 African states. (similarity 0.85)
• The CFA franc question has moved from expert circles into broad public debate (similarity 0.85)
• France introduced the CFA franc to several African colonies in 1945 (similarity 0.84)
• Even French official bodies openly acknowledge the franc zone serves French influence. (similarity 0.84)
• African deputies publicly exposed the CFA franc as a tool of the colonial pact (similarity 0.84)
• The CFA franc’s real purpose was draining colonial wealth to France. (similarity 0.83)
• The CFA franc is a tool to preserve French dominance post-independence. (similarity 0.83)
• CFA franc’s real aims were draining colonial wealth into France, not African progress. (similarity 0.83)
• The CFA franc originated in 1945 as a Françafrique control tool. (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• The CFA guarantee arrangement secretly benefits France at Africa’s expense #corroborates (0.60) — Fanny Pigeaud_ Ndongo Samba Sylla, Africa’s Last Colonial Currency, 146
• An overvalued CFA franc penalised African exports while favouring imports from France #expands (0.50) — Fanny Pigeaud_ Ndongo Samba Sylla, Africa’s Last Colonial Currency, 128