How the "franc Area" Preserves Neo=colonialism in Africa

The following extracts from a Financial Times article last week give an interesting idea of how, despite the political independence of many of France's former colonies, economic control is ex ercised, "Exactly how the France Area works is a closely guarded secret between France and the bulk of her old African colonies who make up its membership,..On the part of the French such reticence is to be expected. For the area affords them a degree of control over the economic lives of the African members that is unparalleled in any other post-colonial system...The Franc Area was set up in its present form on the eve of the last war as part of the general flight from convertibility. But it was always much more tightly organised than the Sterling area..which was created at approximately the same time, being in essence a monetary expression of the old French policy of binding colonies to the mother country in a closed economic system, whereby France guaranteed a market for their produce at higher-than-world prices, while they took her manufactured exportse "At present its 13 full members form a monetary union with France..with its own currency, the CEA Franc, which is freely convertible into Franch francs at a fixed rate. Even to make this system practical France needs guarantees of good nonetary conduct from the member states: the notes are discreetly marked so their circulation * can be watched and, more inportant, French officials exercise surveillance over the policies of the African governnents through the Area's two regional Central Banks 3 and local currency boards, Although the Africa states can have all the French francs they like, their right to change these into other convertible currency is very strictly (but secretly) controlled by the French Finance Ministry and Central Bank, Each year the membercountries ‘negotiate their import programmes with the French authorities in a special committee where each side has parity, and receive a quota of non-franc foreign exchange to cover approved imports from outside the area, "These quotas are divided into three segments covering trade with the East Bloc, the rest of the Common Market and the rest of the world: a certain measure of preference going to the first two categories, The African countries remain nominally free to conclude what trade pacts they like with Gountries outside the area, but any purchasing agreements they make are simply set against the figures worked out in Paris, Very little more is known about how the system works in any detail, but surpluses ( or the reverse) which the Africans may build up in their trade outside the area are absorbed into the balances of metropolitan France, and there is evidence that part of the hard currency "reserves" earned by the richer members are used to offset the deficits incurred by their less fortunate fellows. "From the African point of view the main benefit of the Franc Area is the substantial aid it allows France to provide, which effectively absolves them from the need ' to balance their budgets, Most of this is repatriated either by channelling their imports from the mother country, or by the French-ormed firms which still dominate the economic life of these countries, Another factor is the attractive guaranteed franc exchange rate, which besides inspiring investor confidence encourages private capital transfers back to France, and is a prime reason why so many French technicians (and less desirable classes of whites) stay on in West \frica. The normal pattern among them is for the wife to support the family with a local job, while her husband banks his salary in Paris on advantageous terms, But now that the third great advantage of France Area membership - the guaranteed markets and prices for African produce in France - is being phased out under the member countries! association with the Common Market, the African states are beginning to see the other side of the coin. For years of protection and a currency many observers feel overvalued have left their economies sadly uncompetitive on world markets..." The countries which are subject to this subtle but vory affective economic bondage are Mauritania, Senegal, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, Togo, Cameroon, Gabon, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo (Brazzaville), Dehomey and Malagasy Republic.