The dynamics towards an exit from the CFA franc, a symbol decree of a neocolonial past, seems to resume vigor in West Africa. On April 4, on the occasion of the feast of independence of Senegal, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye reaffirmed his desire to end this currency inherited from colonization, thus relating a crucial debate on the monetary sovereignty of the continent. This declaration is part of the continuity of a campaign commitment, often quoted as fundamental in its project to transform the country.
« This is a lever that you must be able to activate to go faster to endogenous development. […] A sovereign country must be totally sovereign. Not half He recalled in his electoral speeches.
Three options to turn the page
The Senegalese Head of State presented three concrete alternatives to get out of the CFA franc: The creation of a common currency within the framework of ECOWAS, a regional option within the UEMOA, or, as a last resort, the establishment of a national currency specific to Senegal. Aware of regional institutional slowness, he said: ” If it takes time, we start hitting our own currency », Warning against administrative immobility.
This approach, according to him, must be carried out with caution and responsibility. Before any decision, macroeconomic aggregates will have to be stabilized and prepare the regulation mechanisms in order to avoid internal turbulence.
A regional movement underway
Senegal is not alone in this ambition of monetary reconquest. Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, gathered since 2023 within the Confederation of the States of the Sahel (AES), have openly initiated a similar process. During his visit to Moscow, the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bakari Yaou Sangaré, said without detour: “It is clear that we are not going to stay in this CFA affair”.
For his part, General Abdourahamane Tiani, president of the transition to Niger, had denounced in February 2024 monetary exploitation by France: “ There is no longer any question that our states are the milk cow of France. Money is a sign of sovereignty ».
In March 2025, Malian President Assimi Goïta announced a decisive step: The creation of an investment and development bank of the Confederation with an initial capital of 500 billion CFA francsmarking the start of an autonomous and united economic policy.
Towards a common monetary front?
If the Sahelian initiative came to a clean currency, the prospect of enlargement to other West African countries, such as Senegal, could become a strategic reality. By joining a monetary area carried by the AES states, Dakar could accelerate its exit process, while registering in a logic of regional solidarity.
This scenario would strengthen a fundamental trend: The growing rejection of a monetary system which, according to its detractors, benefits more in Paris than in the African countries themselves. Critics against the CFA franc underline its role in the slowdown in local economic development and in the maintenance of financial dependence reports.
A political and economic necessity
The break with the CFA franc is no longer perceived as a simple technical choice, but as a condition of economic survival and national dignity. For Sahelian heads of state as for President Faye, monetary sovereignty is an essential step in effective decolonization. “” It is impossible […] to instantly initiate a monetary process “, He recognizes, but the commitment is clear: West Africa wants to end the invisible channels of the CFA franc.
The movement is launched. It remains to be seen whether the States of the Region will manage to go beyond administrative and political differences to finally create a monetary system adapted to their ambitions.
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