Farida Nabourema criticises CFA Franc, says it was modelled after Nazi currency
Farida Nabourema, Togolese writer and human rights activist, has criticised the CFA Franc monetary system, describing the currency as a control measure over African countries.
The CFA franc is a shared currency used by 14 nations across West and Central Africa, most of which were former French colonies.
In an interview with Rudolf Okonkwo on 90MinutesAfrica, Nabourema said the institutional design of the CFA franc bears similarities to the monetary arrangements imposed on France during the Nazi occupation in World War II.
Nabourema said France emerged financially weakened from the war with depleted gold reserves and a devastated banking system.
She said French authorities subsequently established a monetary system in their African colonies that centralised control of the colonies’ reserves in France, allowing Paris to exercise significant influence over monetary policy.
Nabourema said the arrangement mirrored the system imposed by Nazi Germany on occupied France in the early 1940s, where the Nazi authorities exercised control over French monetary affairs.
The activist said by holding the reserves of several African colonies, France strengthened its own financial position and expanded its geopolitical influence in the post-war period.
The founder of the ‘Faure Must go Movement’ also challenged conventional definitions of democracy, arguing that democratic governance should be judged primarily by accountability rather than by whether a government is civilian or military.
She said elections alone do not guarantee democracy if governments fail to protect civil liberties or remain accountable to citizens.
Nabourem said the central question should be whether citizens can freely participate in governance, enjoy fundamental rights, and hold leaders accountable through effective institutions.
She criticised the international community’s tendency to equate civilian rule with democracy while overlooking authoritarian practices by elected governments.
On international affairs, Nabourema frowned at the impact of sanctions imposed following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.
She noted that while European countries continued to purchase Russian energy supplies, some African countries—particularly those using the CFA franc—were unable to procure Russian agricultural products due to financial restrictions imposed by French monetary authorities.
“Because francophone countries had their money in the Central Bank of France, the French government blocked them from buying wheat from Russia,” the activist said.
She described the situation as evidence of unequal treatment within the international system, arguing that African nations often bear disproportionate costs arising from geopolitical conflicts in which they have no direct involvement.