User:Jaschale/Postcolonialism

Central/Western Africa:

France still continues to have a large amount of control over their central/western African colonies. France achieved this by anticipating the independence of African colonies and implementing economic structures in place to maintain a large amount of control over their former colonies. During colonization, French troops seized African forms of currency, implemented slavery to extract natural resources, and gained the full amount of all of the money extracted from those natural resources. Anticipating independence, France carefully selected the heads of state that were to be put in power post-colonization. Those leaders agreed to sign away their ports and mining sights. They also agreed to establish an economic system called the CFA monetary zones. The CFA monetary zones used a currency called the CFA Franc, which is a currency printed by France, backed by the Euro, and has France as its guarantor.(1.)

The financial architecture of the CFA Franc is designed to benefit France at the expense of African nations. Central banks established under the system mandate that 50% of their reserves, plus an additional 20%, be held in the French treasury. This leaves member states with a meager 30% of their own money. Foreign exchange conversions are routed through French treasuries, granting France discretionary control over these funds. Moreover, when African nations have debit accounts, France imposes fees, essentially charging them for holding their own money.(2)

France's multinational corporations exploit the CFA Franc system to gain access to Africa's abundant natural resources at a fraction of their true value. The control extends to ownership of West Africa's ports and military bases have been strategically placed near resource extraction sites. This has resulted in France maintaining a large amount of control over their former colonies. (3)

The consequences of France's historical and contemporary interventions are dire, ranging from economic stagnation and infrastructure deficiencies to widespread starvation, disease, and armed conflicts. Rebel and terror groups funded by France contribute to the cycle of violence, leading to immense human suffering and the looting of valuable resources.

Critics argue that if the CFA Franc were truly detrimental, African leaders would oppose it. However, the reality is that these nations are ensnared in a dependency web, a direct result of the CFA Francs economic stranglehold. A French-appointed individual has veto powers for the central banks within the CFA monetary zones, which allows them to oppose any economic policy that would benefit their respective nations. (4)Also, France has had over 50+ military interventions within Africa post-colonization and several military bases throughout Africa. (5)This ensures that France can always intervene militarily in countries that oppose their will. In the past, when countries tried to break away from the CFA Franc, France did anything they could to destroy them. When Guinea announced it would break away from the CFA Franc, France responded with covert funding of rebel groups and flooding the Guinean economy with counterfeit euros. Togo's attempt at removing itself from the CFA Franc led to the mysterious assassination of Sylvanus Olympio, with French records conveniently sealed.(6)

Recent proposed changes to the CFA Franc, set to take effect in the near future, are touted as reforms. However, the changes are purely symbolic. There are largely no changes to the CFA Franc or the CFA monetary zones. The only actual changes are a name change to the ECO, the removal of France’s responsibility to bail their former colonies during an economic crisis, and the removal of the clause that states their former colonies no longer have to keep 50% of their reserves in the French bank. (7)Although African countries keeping more of their reserves is a good thing, the change of the name does absolutely nothing, and the removal of France's bail clause shifts responsibilities away from France without relinquishing control. As a result, France will no longer have to take into consideration the well-being of their African colonies when making economic policies in Africa. These changes only deepen the exploitative nature of the CFA monetary zones.

Through the CFA monetary zones, France is enduring its legacy of colonialism and enforcing the mechanisms of neo-colonial control over most of central/western Africa. To understand the current socio-economic landscape of this region of Africa, one must unravel the complexities of this monetary system and confront the ongoing exploitation that perpetuates the cycle of poverty, instability, and suffering.

(1) '''King, Isabelle. “True Sovereignty? The CFA Franc and French Influence in West and Central Africa.” Harvard International Review, Harvard International Review, 18 Mar.'''

(2) '''Sylla, Ndongo Samba. “The CFA Franc: French Monetary Imperialism in Africa.” Africa at LSE, 12 July 2017, blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2017/07/12/the-cfa-franc-french-monetary-imperialism-in-africa/.'''

(3)Powell, Nathaniel K. “The Flawed Logic behind French Military Interventions in Africa.” The Conversation, 12 May 2020, theconversation.com/the-flawed-logic-behind-french-military-interventions-in-africa-132528.

(4) '''Sylla, Ndongo Samba. “The CFA Franc: French Monetary Imperialism in Africa.” Africa at LSE, 12 July 2017, blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2017/07/12/the-cfa-franc-french-monetary-imperialism-in-africa/.'''

(5) Powell, Nathaniel K. “The Flawed Logic behind French Military Interventions in Africa.” The Conversation, 12 May 2020, theconversation.com/the-flawed-logic-behind-french-military-interventions-in-africa-132528.

(6) '''Francisco Torres Pérez. “An Enduring Neocolonial Alliance: A History of the CFA Franc.” The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 81, no. 5, 1 Nov. 2022, pp. 851–887, https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12485 .'''

(7) '''King, Isabelle. “True Sovereignty? The CFA Franc and French Influence in West and Central Africa.” Harvard International Review, Harvard International Review, 18 Mar.'''