France does not have to comment on the future of the CFA franc in West Africa, as the election of anti-system candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye at the head of Senegal plunges into a little more uncertainty, estimated Monday April 8 French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné.
“If African countries agree to change the name, to organize their monetary organization differently, this is a matter of state sovereignty. We want to support this movement. If it is just the name symbol, it can be changed. If it is a different organization from the monetary organization, it can also be changed,” he observed.
“It is not up to France to have an opinion on this. We have done our part by leaving the governance of the CFA. Now, it’s up to African states to decide,” continued the head of French diplomacy, interviewed on RFI and France 24.
Taking a sovereignist line, the new Senegalese president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, advocated during his campaign a break with the current currency, used in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA: Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger , Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin and Guinea-Bissau).
A currency pegged to a strong euro
The CFA franc is also used in six Central African countries, in a separate monetary union, where the debate over a possible exit is currently less intense. Criticism of the CFA franc, whose banknotes are still printed in Chamalières, France, is not recent. Its parity, pegged to a strong euro which penalizes exports, is frequently targeted by its detractors.
The rise of hostile sentiment towards French policy in Africa in several countries in the region, particularly among younger populations, has accentuated the unpopularity of the motto.
A few months ago, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, governed by military regimes which turned their back on Paris and left the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to form an alliance with Russia, had also mentioned an exit from the CFA franc.
Stéphane Séjourné completed his first African tour in Ivory Coast on Monday which took him to Kenya and Rwanda, the opportunity to welcome “a balanced partnership” with Abidjan, which remains one of Paris' main allies on the continent.
“Building balanced partnerships”
“This is the meaning of the story of our new relations between the two countries: to have partnerships which are balanced, to have a diaspora which makes this link between our cultures and our economies”, declared Mr. Séjourné during a press briefing with the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara.
Referring to the “good results of the Ivorian economy for a decade”, he also mentioned the role of Côte d’Ivoire in “stability at the regional level”. “We will continue to work with you for this stability,” he continued.
President Ouattara, for his part, welcomed “the particularly close historical ties of friendship and cooperation which continue to strengthen” between the two countries, thanking France for its “support in almost all areas”.
Before his visit to Abidjan, the French minister first went to Nairobi on Saturday, where he also spoke of his wish to “build balanced partnerships”, which must “be beneficial” to African countries. On Sunday, he participated in the ceremonies marking 30 years of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. Stéphane Séjourné left Abidjan Monday evening to return to Paris.
