Eight West African countries and France have decided on a major reform of the CFA franc, which will change
name to be called eco.
It's a page that turns. Soon, we should no longer talk about the CFA franc, created in 1945 for "the colonies
Françaises d'Afrique” and whose name alone had changed with the independence of the 1960s.
Abidjan, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Ivorian counterpart, Alassane Ouattara, announced “
a historic reform" of this currency.
“The CFA franc was perceived as one of the vestiges of Françafrique. So let's break the moorings, let's have it
courage to move forward, to watch and to build an uninhibited partnership together. France has nothing to hide, has
no privilege to have, ”said Emmanuel Macron. In the three geographical areas concerned by the franc
CFA - the Seychelles, Central Africa and West Africa - the agreement signed on Saturday concerns "only" the
eight countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA): Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire,
Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
A “line of credit”
In addition to a change in the name of the currency, which will become the eco, the agreement provides for two important changes. He
the obligation for the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) to invest 50% of its
foreign exchange reserves with the French Treasury. And France will no longer sit in the decision-making and
management of WAEMU. These two points have long crystallized criticism of a “postcolonial” currency.
The agreement, which has been under negotiation for several months, is a profound reform but not a revolution. Because the eight
West African countries wanted to maintain the fixed parity of the currency with the euro (1 euro = 655.96 francs
CFA) and the guarantee of convertibility by France "in order to attract private investment, create jobs
and to continue the development of our countries", underlined Alassane Ouattara, president in office of the
conference of heads of state and government of UEMOA. The reform of the CFA franc should satisfy the
Nigeria, which demanded that a common West African currency be disconnected from the French Treasury. Fixed parity
with the euro is nevertheless a point much disputed by African economists, who point out that the currency,
at a high price, harms exports. These economists plead for indexation on a basket of the main
world currencies, the dollar, the euro and the Chinese yuan, corresponding to the main economic partners of
Africa. Paris also retains its role as financial guarantor. “If the BCEAO faces a lack of available
to cover its foreign currency commitments, it will be able to obtain the necessary euros from France”,
explains the Elysée.
This guarantee will take the form of a “line of credit”. What relativizes the monetary emancipation of Africa
from West. "With the maintenance of this guarantee, while waiting for the eco, we want to avoid speculation and leakage
capital", justified Alassane Ouattara.
“A preliminary step”

The reform of the CFA franc is, according to Paris, "a preliminary step in the roadmap of the currency project
system of ECOWAS,” which includes fifteen countries. The latter had mentioned the year 2020 for the launch
of the eco, but without setting a precise timetable. And for good reason. On Saturday, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, the Minister of
Nigeria Finance - a regional economic heavyweight - stressed that there is "still work to be done to
meet the convergence criteria. The UEMOA countries, which on the whole meet these criteria
(unlike other ECOWAS countries), could constitute the vanguard of the eco.

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