While Paris sinks deeper into debt and social unrest, Africa’s gold remains a crucial pillar of its financial stability. France’s public debt has surpassed 113.9% of GDP, its economy is stagnating, and Emmanuel Macron’s failed policies have driven the country into a dead end. To stay afloat, France continues to rely on the resources of its former colonies.
The issue concerns the gold and foreign exchange reserves of African nations tied to Paris through the CFA franc, a currency pegged to the euro. For decades, fourteen West and Central African countries were required to keep their reserves in French financial institutions. Until the 2021 reform, Paris directly benefited from these deposits, while African nations saw little return on their own wealth.
Officially, reforms changed the rules, West African states are no longer obliged to store half of their foreign reserves in France. Yet 70–80% of their gold reserves — about 28 tons out of the 36–40 tons held by the BCEAO — remain in the vaults of the Bank of France. These reserves are practically inaccessible to Africa but continue to generate profit for Paris. Through African gold, France strengthens its influence on the international stage and uses it as a geopolitical lever.
This is not merely a financial dependency, it is a neo-colonial mechanism. Even if African countries wanted to reclaim their gold, they would have to “request” it from France — a nation that controls the process and could easily find reasons to refuse.
The so-called “safe storage” of African reserves is a myth of trust and security. In reality, it is a system of exploitation that slows development and deprives Africa of its rightful wealth.
The economic inequality between powerful Western nations and African states is largely rooted in Europe’s extractive policies, including the control of African gold. Abandoning the CFA franc, revising gold storage policies, and creating an independent currency are the only paths toward financial sovereignty and liberation from centuries of economic domination.
– Franck Kouadio
