| World

Despite the French Leaving Africa Decades Ago, The Scars Left by Them are Still Seen

Even though it has been around 60 years after many Africans gained independence from France, many former colonies find themselves dragged down by oppression.

By Hector Miranda Plaza, January 19, 2021

In early 2020, the Economic Community of West African States announced their plan to launch a new common currency, the Eco. This new monetary network would replace the old currency, the CFA Franc.

While this may not seem like momentous news to most observers, a careful examination of francophone Africa’s monetary and political conditions reveals both the great significance of this shift and the ongoing exploitation of former French colonies by their old overlords.

During the 1800s, like most other major European powers, the Third French Republic oversaw a massive expansion of their colonial holdings, controlling Indochina, much of the Caribbean, and nearly a third of all of Africa at their peak. As would be expected of a colonial power, they successfully exploited the people whose land they occupied for nearly a century, extracting their resources and labor and playing no small part in propelling France to the status of a great power.

This very lucrative position was kept unchanged until after the devastation of World War II. With all of Europe being left in ruins, the US stepped in as the sole guarantor of economic prosperity. For France, this meant that they not only no longer had the resources necessary to maintain an expansive overseas empire, but also that the US would cut down on economic aid if they pursued its continuation. In the eyes of the French leadership, this constituted a major threat to the power of their State.

The geopolitical concept resulting from this sentiment was Françanfrique, or French Africa, an indirect extension of the French sphere of influence in the African Continent. 

As a consequence of Françanfrique, the French government remains heavily involved in African politics. For example, the African Cell, composed of the President, his advisors on the region, influential regional businesses, and the French foreign intelligence service, collaborate to make policy decisions for much of Africa, often without a say from the African people.

The extent of their political control does not remain limited to the Cell, however. French leaders have sought out close personal relationships with many of the leaders in Africa, forming a web of interconnected bonds between the countries’ leaders and the people surrounding them. This gives France more sway over the political happenings in their former colonies, and leaves the citizens of these countries with a hotbed for nepotism and less of a voice in their government.

In addition to this, they have retained disproportionate control of the economies of former colonies through the currency they use, the CFA Franc. This monetary system is split into two separate currencies, the West African and Central African Franc.

The French Government, having taken the liberty to deem themselves the guarantors of economic stability in the region, pegged the value of the Franc to the Euro and required that the central banks of each currency keep a minimum of or more than half of their reserves in France. This resulted in the countries using the currency being beholden to France for fiscal matters, as well as artificially high exchange rates which hamstrung growth.

Apart from economic control, they held much more direct control militarily and politically. Following the independence of their colonies, France proceeded to form military guarantee treaties with many of them. This cemented them as the only power capable of ensuring stability in the former colonies.

It additionally gave them the reach necessary to intervene in many situations under the guise of “ensuring stability”. In practice it was another way to ensure the political situation in the area stayed favorable to the French. Most notably, the French played a part in the deposition of leaders such as Thomas Sankara, Sylvanus Olympio, David Dacko, and others, many of which happened to oppose their countries’ use of the Franc. Through hook and crook, France has kept an iron grip over its colonies for over sixty years since their independence, but that may soon change.

The introduction of the Eco as a new common currency has the potential to jumpstart the West and Central African economies, giving new power to the countries themselves to most effectively manage their finances. There are still many roadblocks in facing the widespread usage of the currency, though, most notably the fact that it shares the same name as another currency proposal which would extend to both former French and British colonies. 

Despite the current obstacles in a fully independent currency, the fact that countries currently using the Franc are having these discussions is a promising sign of things to come. Since the first Europeans landed on her shores, Africa has dreamt of total freedom from foreign domination, and for the first time it seems like such a dream is finally within reach.

Hector Miranda Plaza is an author for and co-founder of Young Patriots Magazine.