The CFA system gives France instruments to steer franc-zone politics

Evidence

The raw materials that it imports at low cost, such as uranium and oil, are what allow it to maintain its status as a ‘great power’. In particular, the CFA franc provides Paris with a series of instruments of pressure, repression and control that allow it, if necessary, to go beyond the economic sphere and orient the political trajectory of the 15 African states of the franc zone. — Fanny Pigeaud_ Ndongo Samba Sylla, Africa’s Last Colonial Currency, 268 (#expands, via linked claim)

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 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Portugal replicated France’s currency cooperation model with Cabo Verde.; French-aligned technocrats set monetary policy for CFA franc states.; The CFA franc is a tool to preserve French dominance post-independence. (+12 more)

Related

• The CFA franc gives France instruments to control the politics of 15 African states. (similarity 0.95)
• The CFA franc is a tool to preserve French dominance post-independence. (similarity 0.92)
• Most Togolese believe the CFA franc mainly serves French interests (similarity 0.92)
• The CFA franc functions as a political instrument of pressure over 15 African states. (similarity 0.91)
• Even French official bodies openly acknowledge the franc zone serves French influence. (similarity 0.91)
• The CFA franc is the central weapon of Françafrique’s neocolonial domination (similarity 0.89)
• The CFA franc persists because French and African elite interests both benefit. (similarity 0.89)
• Two-thirds of Togolese believe the CFA franc should be abolished (similarity 0.89)
• The CFA franc persists because French and African elites both profit from it (similarity 0.87)
• The CFA franc originated in 1945 as a Françafrique control tool. (similarity 0.87)
• Portugal replicated France’s currency cooperation model with Cabo Verde. (similarity 0.87)
• The CFA system functions as hard coercion, not soft power (similarity 0.86)
• African deputies publicly exposed the CFA franc as a tool of the colonial pact (similarity 0.86)
• CFA franc’s real aims were draining colonial wealth into France, not African progress. (similarity 0.86)
• The CFA franc question has moved from expert circles into broad public debate (similarity 0.86)

Broader Connections

• The CFA franc gives France instruments to control the politics of 15 African states. #expands (0.80) — Fanny Pigeaud_ Ndongo Samba Sylla, Africa’s Last Colonial Currency, 268
• Most Togolese believe the CFA franc mainly serves French interests #exemplifies (0.55) — Fanny Pigeaud_ Ndongo Samba Sylla, Africa’s Last Colonial Currency, 371