France, Africa and the currency
Week of 13th January 2020
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The CFA Franc is the official currency of 8 West African countries with a 2nd version being the currency of 6 Central African countries, countries that used to be colonies of France or another European country.
Despite the long form of CFA having been changed from Colonies françaises d'Afrique ("French colonies of Africa") to the current Communauté Financière Africaine (African Financial Community), the history of colonialism still lingers strongly in West Africa.
France's Macron and Ivory Coast's Ouatta recently announced that CFA Franc will soon become Eco, a seemingly West African independent currency that will continue to be pegged to EURO. However, critics discuss the benefit and potential economic disaster of Eco and how much France is really giving up control on her ex-colonies.
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If you only have limited time, I highly suggested reading:
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CNBC Africa's George Ott
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The Financial Times' David Pilling
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Jacobin Magazine's Ndongo Samba Sylla
From the web:
Bloomberg
by Tope Alake and Alonso Soto
The Dollar, the Euro and the Yen – and now the West African Eco
CNBC Africa
by George Ott
From CFA Franc to 'eco' - what you need to know about West Africa's new currency
Wall Street Journal
by Steve H. Hanke
Farewell to the CFA Franc: Macron and Ouattara end a colonial relic
Worldfinance.com (special report)
by Alex Katsomitros
Striking a sour note: why the CFA franc’s days as legal tender could be spent
LesEchos (in French)
by Christian de Boissieu
From the CFA franc to the Eco: there is still a long way to go