
France loots former colonies - ticktockten
http://thisisafrica.me/france-loots-former-colonies/
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biot
Discussed before at:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8876429](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8876429)

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wjnc
Googling 'pacte colonial' and other terms does not get me far outside the
blogosphere. No wiki, hardly anything on Google Scholar. The World Bank never
seems to have written an opinion about it. Hard to believe, at least in this
form.

As a counter example, I Googled for Chinese investments in those countries,
and found a lot of information / news. That seems to run against the
'Ownership of natural resources'-paragraph.

A last thought: it's about monetary operations for the workings of a common
currency. You don't exactly lose money when depositing it at a central bank.
The system they describe in pretty harsh terms (google it) , sounds like a
scheme pretty normally practiced between banks and central banks.

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meric
I had better luck googling "colonial pact". I think the worry is African's
money deposited into French reserve bank is used to invest in African
infrastructure, and part of the profits kept by the French (and the
shareholders of the named company) themselves and the other part remain
forever unavailable to the member countries themsevles.

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wjnc
I tried the other languages as well. All the same authors, same pieces
rehashed. Nothing like a source to base your opinion on, imho. I'd even trust
Krugman at this point ;) I don't read French easily, but even Google Scholar
seems to hold the same coloured content.

On the contents: a central bank scheme indeed. And in normal circumstances
your central banks profits fill the coffers of your state. In this case the
problem is the profits are not divided among stakeholders, only to the
shareholder (the French).

Well the solution is 'simple': start your own currency. My impression is that
those countries greatly benefit from a more stable currency (haven't looked it
up at Bloomberg), since there is an implicit guarantee from the French state
(is there?). We need a more total picture (costs and benefits) in order to be
able to form somewhat of an opinion.

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andymcsherry
Here's a Blomberg article in the matter which suggests the rationale of a more
stable currency.

[http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-04-17/african-
mone...](http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-04-17/african-monetary-
union-stirs-criticism-of-france)

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jnaour
As a french I really don't understand why French government doesn't do massive
long term investment in Africa other than simple explotation of natural
ressources. As many study says Africa is the future Asia with >8% growth and
huge amount of population [1]. Even if there is a eavy colonial past and
really bad things as Rwanda we share a language and some values.

[1]:
[http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/the...](http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/the-
next-asia-is-africa-inside-the-continents-rapid-economic-growth/257441/)

~~~
ptaipale
I would guess instability is the main reason for not investing.

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contingencies
Interesting. I wonder if this is related to an event on the same theme...
there was a report last year about an Air Algerie McDonell Douglas 83 (MD-83)
plane being downed - some reports suggest by bomb despite weather allegations
- while flying over Mali. The plane was allegedly carrying France's three
highest ranking military intelligence officers for Africa from Burkina Faso to
Algeria plus 30 other French military. The crash site was hurriedly secured by
the French military with 30 French soldiers flown in for purpose.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Alg%C3%A9rie_Flight_5017#P...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Alg%C3%A9rie_Flight_5017#Passengers_and_crew)

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steedsofwar
Those sidebar articles are definitely NSFW

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acd
There is a documentary with accusation about previous french presidents
arriving home in France with suit cases of dollars.

[http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-france-graft-
id...](http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-france-graft-
idUSTRE78B4DA20110912)

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coenhyde
This was a good read. I had no idea any of this was going on. Though I still
don't understand why the ex French colonies just don't say no. It's not like
France would send in the army. I'm guessing France would confiscate 85% of
their reserves and that is enough of a deterrent?

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bsaul
France has a lot of troops in africa, protecting civilians whenever a civil
war erupts ( like in operation licorne in cote d'ivoire) , or more recently in
mali, to fight against djihadist groups spreading chaos.

This article reads like propaganda to me. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that
france still has unjustified commercial priviledges,espeically in the oil
business, but the monetary things reads like a complete misunderstanding of
central bank monetary stability policies ( franc cfa is exceptionnaly stable
compared to the poor politicial stability of the area).

~~~
bane
Unlike the U.S., I don't think French foreign military involvement is all that
well known or understood.

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Iv
(disclaimer: French here) Well, France will not wage war if these countries
leave the CFA. France gains some control, and these countries enjoy the
benefits of a stable currency. It is probably not the most ideal situation,
but what alternatives are proposed?

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tinco
Except that all who opposed were mysteriously assassinated? I'm not one to
quickly jump on conspiracy theories, but it sure looks like France is not in a
healthy relationship with these countries.

Slightly related, is it true that the currencies in CFA are significantly more
stable than those of surrounding countries? And are the inhabitants wealthier
for it?

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lafar6502
thanks for reminding that colonialism has not ended

