The CFA franc (in French: "franc CFA" , originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, recently Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, or colloquially "franc") is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries. Both currencies are guaranteed by the French treasury. Although separate, the two CFA franc currencies have always been at parity and are effectively interchangeable. The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc.
Introduction
CFA franc
CFA franc | Introduction
The CFA franc  is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries. It is the official currency of Comoros. The CFA franc is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries. It is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries
when did the euro come out in spain
user
2002
assistant
what is this ?
user
The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 of the member states of the European Union.
assistant
are there any inflation risk associated with it ?
user
In the short term, there was a widespread impression in the population of the eurozone that the introduction of the euro had led to an increase in prices, but this impression was not confirmed by general indices of inflation and other studies.
assistant
what are its linguistic issues ?
user
Bulgaria has negotiated an exception; "euro" in the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet is spelled as eвро and not eуро in all official documents. In the Greek script the term ευρώ (evró) is used
assistant
are its exchange rates flexible ?
user
Yes - In the years following the Single European Act, the EU has liberalised its capital markets and, as the ECB has inflation targeting as its monetary policy, the exchange-rate regime of the euro is floating.
assistant
what are its direct uses ?
user
It has been used as a trading currency in Cuba since 1998, Syria since 2006, and Venezuela since 2018.
assistant
where is this country located ?
user
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
assistant
where is this currency used ?
user
19 EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain
assistant
where is the first country located ?
user
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
assistant
name some currencies pegged to this currency ?
user
CFA franc, Comorian franc. Cape Verdean escudo, Bulgarian lev)
assistant
which the first currency you have mentioned above ?
user
Old Madagascar coins and banknotes continued to circulate as this new currency. On 17 October 1948, the CFA franc was revalued to 2 French francs.
Comorian franc | History
In 1981, The Comoros established an arrangement with the French government similar to that of the CFA franc. Originally, 50 Comorian francs were worth 1 French franc. In January 1994, the rate was changed to 75 Comorian francs to the French franc. Since 1999, the currency has been pegged to the euro.
Franc | Comorian franc
The franc remained Congo's currency after independence until 1967, when the "zaïre" was introduced, at a rate of 1 zaïre = 1,000 francs.
Congolese franc | First franc, 1887–1967
The CFA franc (in French: "franc CFA" , originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, recently Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, or colloquially "franc") is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries. Both currencies are guaranteed by the French treasury. Although separate, the two CFA franc currencies have always been at parity and are effectively interchangeable. The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc.
CFA franc | Introduction
The CFA franc was introduced to the French colonies in Equatorial Africa in 1945, replacing the French Equatorial African franc. The Equatorial African colonies and territories using the CFA franc were Chad, French Cameroun, French Congo, Gabon and Ubangi-Shari. The currency remained in use when these colonies gained their independence. Equatorial Guinea, the only former Spanish colony in the zone, adopted the CFA franc in 1984, replacing the Equatorial Guinean ekwele at a rate of 1 franc = 4 bipkwele.
Central African CFA franc | History
Fourteen African countries use the franc CFA (in west Africa, "Communauté financière africaine"; in equatorial Africa, "Coopération financière en Afrique centrale"), originally (1945) worth 1.7 French francs and then from 1948, 2 francs (from 1960: 0.02 new franc) but after January 1994 worth only 0.01 French franc. Therefore, from January 1999, 1 CFA franc is equivalent to €0.00152449. On 22 December 2019, it was announced that the CFA franc would be replaced in 2020 by an independent currency to be called Eco. A separate (franc CFP) circulates in France's Pacific territories, worth €0.0084 (formerly 0.055 French franc).
Franc | CFA and CFP francs
The CFA franc was created with a fixed exchange rate versus the French franc. This exchange rate was changed only twice: in 1948 and in 1994. Exchange rate: The 1960 and 1999 events were merely changes in the currency in use in France: the relative value of the CFA franc versus the French franc/euro changed only in 1948 and 1994.
CFA franc | Exchange rate
The first Guinean franc was introduced in 1959 to replace the CFA franc. There were 1, 5, 10 and 25 francs coins (made of aluminium bronze) with banknotes (dated 1958) in 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 francs denominations. A second series of banknotes dated 1er MARS 1960 was issued on 1 March 1963, without the 10,000 francs. This series was printed without imprint by Thomas De La Rue, and includes more colors, enhanced embossing, and improved security features. A new issue of coins in 1962 was made of cupronickel. In 1971, the franc was replaced by syli at a rate of 1 syli = 10 francs.
Guinean franc | First Guinean franc
Note: There are two different currencies called the CFA franc.
List of currencies in Africa | Present currencies
Over time, the number of countries and territories using the CFA franc has changed as some countries began introducing their own separate currencies. A couple of nations in West Africa have also chosen to adopt the CFA franc since its introduction, despite the fact that they were never French colonies.
CFA franc | Changes in countries using the franc
The CFA franc was created on 26 December 1945, along with the CFP franc. The reason for their creation was the weakness of the French franc immediately after World War II. When France ratified the Bretton Woods Agreement in December 1945, the French franc was devalued in order to set a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. New currencies were created in the French colonies to spare them the strong devaluation, thereby facilitating imports from France. French officials presented the decision as an act of generosity. René Pleven, the French minister of finance, was quoted as saying -
CFA franc | Creation
When the CFA franc was introduced, notes issued by the "Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre-Mer" ("Central Cashier of Overseas France") in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 100 and 1000 francs were in circulation. In 1947, a new series of notes was introduced for use in French Equatorial Africa, although the notes did not bear the name of the colonies. Notes were issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1000 francs, followed by those of 500 francs in 1949, and 5000 francs in 1952. In 1957, the "Institut d'Émission de l'Afrique Équatoriale Française et du Cameroun" took over paper money production, issuing all of the earlier denominations except for the 5000-franc bill.
Central African CFA franc | Banknotes
The CFA franc was introduced to the French colonies in West Africa in 1945, replacing the French West African franc. The West African colonies and territories using the CFA franc were Ivory Coast, Dahomey, French Sudan, Mauritania, Niger, Sénégal, Togo and Upper Volta. The currency continued in use when these colonies gained their independence, except in Mali (formerly French Sudan), which replaced at par the CFA franc with its own franc in 1961. In 1973, Mauritania replaced the CFA franc with the ouguiya at a rate of 1 ouguiya = 5 francs. Mali readopted the CFA franc in 1984, at a rate of 1 CFA franc = 2 Malian francs.
West African CFA franc | History
In 1961, the "Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique Équatoriale et du Cameroun" took over banknote production, with notes below 100 francs ceasing to be issued. The name of the bank changed to "Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique Équatoriale" in 1963. 10,000-franc notes were introduced in 1968, whilst the 100-franc notes were replaced by coins in 1971. In 1975, the bank name changed again to the "Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale" and the individual states began issuing notes in their own names, in denominations of 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 francs. This practice ended in 1993. Since then, the banknotes have been issued with only a letter prominently displayed to distinguish between the issues of the different states.
Central African CFA franc | Banknotes
50 franc coins were also issued in this manner between 1976 and 1996, after being reduced in size. However instead of depicting the state name each was given an identification letter on the top reverse. 50 franc coins with the letter "A" were issued for Chad, "B" for Central African Republic, "C" for Congo, "D" for Gabon, and "E" for Cameroon. In 1976, cupro-nickel 500-franc coins were introduced. From 1985, these were also issued by the individual states. That year also saw the introduction of 5, 25, 50 and 100 franc coins for use in Equatorial Guinea, which had recently joined the monetary union, depicting all titles and information in Spanish instead of the usual French, most notably the denomination as "franco" instead of "franc".
Central African CFA franc | Coins
The franc was the currency of French Equatorial Africa. The French franc circulated, together with distinct banknotes from 1917 and coins from 1942. It was replaced by the CFA franc in 1945.
French Equatorial African franc | Introduction
The Madagascar-Comores CFA franc (XMCF) replaced the franc of Madagascar on December 26, 1945, with the creation of the other CFA francs. The CFA franc was worth 1.7 French francs until 1948 when a devaluation of the French currency increased the rate to 1 CFA franc = 2 French francs. When the new French franc was introduced in 1960, the rate became 1 CFA franc = 0.02 French francs. After independence from France, the privilege to issue banknotes was transferred to the "Institut d'Émission Malgache" on December 31, 1961. The CFA franc was replaced by the Malagasy franc on July 1, 1963.
Malagasy franc | History
On 22 December 2019, it was announced that the West African currency would be replaced by an independent currency to be called Eco. Both CFA francs have a fixed exchange rate to the euro: 100 CFA francs = 1 former French (nouveau) franc = 0.152449 euro; or 1 € = 6.55957 FRF = 655.957 CFA francs exactly.
CFA franc | Introduction
The former Portuguese colony of Guinea-Bissau adopted the CFA franc in 1997, replacing the Guinea-Bissau peso at a rate of 1 CFA franc = 65 pesos.
West African CFA franc | History
In 1998, in anticipation of Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, the Council of the European Union addressed the monetary agreements France had with the CFA Zone and Comoros and ruled that:
CFA franc | European Monetary Union
The franc was re-established in 1997, replacing the "new zaïre" at a rate of 1 franc = 100,000 new zaïres. This was equivalent to 300 trillion old francs.
Congolese franc | Second franc, 1997–
The first francs to circulate in Madagascar were French francs. These were supplemented during the First World War by emergency issues, including issues of postage stamps fixed to pieces of card in denominations of 0.05 up to 2 francs. The Banque de Madagascar was created on July 1, 1925, by the French government. The currency was issued by the government-owned "Banque de Madagascar" and was pegged at par to the French franc. Only banknotes were issued with French coins continuing to circulate. When the Comoro Islands became a separate French territory, the name of the issuing bank was changed to "Banque de Madagascar et des Comores".
Malagasy franc | History
There are two different currencies called the CFA franc: the West African CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XOF), and the Central Africa CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XAF). They are distinguished in French by the meaning of the abbreviation CFA. These two CFA francs have the same exchange rate with the euro (1 euro = 655.957 XOF = 655.957 XAF), and they are both guaranteed by the French treasury (), but the West African CFA franc cannot be used in Central African countries, and the Central Africa CFA franc cannot be used in West African countries.
CFA franc | Institutions
Currency denominated in centimes and francs () was first introduced in 1887 for use in the Congo Free State (1885-1908). After the Free State's annexation by Belgium, the currency continued in the Belgian Congo. The francs were equal in value to the Belgian franc. From 1916, the Congolese franc also circulated in Ruanda-Urundi (present day Rwanda and Burundi) and, from 1952, the currency was issued jointly in the names of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi. After the independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1960, Ruanda-Urundi adopted its own franc, whilst, between 1960 and 1963, Katanga also issued a franc of its own.
Congolese franc | First franc, 1887–1967
CFA francs are used in fourteen countries: twelve nations formerly ruled by France in West and Central Africa (excluding Guinea and Mauritania, which withdrew), plus Guinea-Bissau (a former Portuguese colony), and Equatorial Guinea (a former Spanish colony). These fourteen countries have a combined population of 147.5 million people (as of 2013), and a combined GDP of US$166.6 billion (as of 2012). The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc.
CFA franc | Usage
Its currency is the CFA franc.
List of companies of Cameroon | Introduction
In 1948, coins were issued for use in all the colonies (not including French Cameroun) in denominations of 1 and 2 francs. This was the last issue of a 2 franc coin for nearly 50 years. In 1958, 5, 10, and 25 franc coins were added, which were also used in French Cameroun. These bore the name "Cameroun" in addition to "États de l'Afrique Equatoriale". In 1961, nickel 50-franc coins were introduced, followed by nickel 100-franc pieces in 1966. From 1971, the 100 franc coins were issued for each of the individual member states, depicting the state name in which they were issued.
Central African CFA franc | Coins
The franc was the currency of French West Africa. The French franc circulated, together with distinct banknotes from 1903 and coins from 1944. It was replaced by the CFA franc in 1945.
French West African franc | Introduction
In 1998 in anticipation of European Monetary Union, the Council of the European Union addressed the monetary agreements France has with the CFA Zone and Comoros and ruled that:
Comorian franc | European Monetary Union
When the CFA franc was introduced, notes issued by the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique Occidentale in denominations of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 1000 francs were in circulation. 500-franc notes were added in 1946, followed by those of 5,000 francs in 1948. In 1955, the "Institut d'Emission de l'A.O.F. et du Togo" took over the production of paper money, issuing notes for 50, 100, 500 and 1000 francs. In 1959, the BCEAO took over the issuance of paper money and reintroduced a 5,000-franc note. With the exception of a few early issues, the notes of the BCEAO carry a letter to indicate the country of issuance.
West African CFA franc | Banknotes
The CFP franc was created in December 1945, together with the CFA franc, used in Africa. The reason for the creation of these francs was the weakness of the French franc immediately after the Second World War. When France ratified the Bretton Woods Agreement in December 1945, the French franc was devalued in order to set a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. New currencies were created in the French colonies to spare them the strong devaluation of December 1945. René Pleven, the French minister of finance, was quoted saying: “In a show of her generosity and selflessness, metropolitan France, wishing not to impose on her far-away daughters the consequences of her own poverty, is setting different exchange rates for their currency.” The other French colonial currencies were set at a fixed exchange rate with the French franc.
CFP franc | 1945–1949
In consequence of this unusual parity it was not possible to stamp old "cruzeiros reais" notes, so that one entirely new family of notes was issued at once, a remarkably difficult logistics effort At the day of the first issues of the new currency, in an unprecedented move, the Central Bank abstained from intervening in the foreign exchange market and let the new currency float. In consequence, the exchange rate between the URV (now the real) and the Dollar, fell below R$ 1,00 (i. e. it appreciated) with a great positive impact on expectations and marking the successful conclusion of the stabilization process first phase.
Gustavo Franco | Plano Real
The Central African CFA franc (French: "franc CFA" or simply "franc", ISO 4217 code: XAF) is the currency of six independent states in Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. These six countries have a combined population of 55.2 million people (as of 2020), and a combined GDP of US$113.322 billion (as of 2020). CFA stands for "Coopération financière en Afrique centrale" ("Financial Cooperation in Central Africa"). It is issued by the BEAC ("Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale", "Bank of the Central African States"), located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for the members of the CEMAC ("Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale", "Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa").
Central African CFA franc | Introduction
Outside the eurozone, a total of 22 countries and territories that do not belong to the EU have currencies that are directly pegged to the euro including 14 countries in mainland Africa (CFA franc), two African island countries (Comorian franc and Cape Verdean escudo), three French Pacific territories (CFP franc) and three Balkan countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark), Bulgaria (Bulgarian lev) and North Macedonia (Macedonian denar). On 28 July 2009, São Tomé and Príncipe signed an agreement with Portugal which will eventually tie its currency to the euro. Additionally, the Moroccan dirham is tied to a basket of currencies, including the euro and the US dollar, with the euro given the highest weighting.
Euro | Currencies pegged to the euro
The franc (; ; sign: CF; ISO 4217 code: KMF) is the official currency of Comoros. It is nominally subdivided into 100 "centimes", although no centime denominations have ever been issued.
Comorian franc | Introduction
Even though during the early 1950s to the mid 1980s, CFA countries experienced higher real GDP growth and lower inflation rates than other non-CFA Sub-Saharan countries, the economic shocks of the 1986 and 1993 caused the CFA franc to become increasingly overvalued and run increased deficits in the French Treasury. Some policymakers have argued that the CFA franc be tied to a basket of currencies rather than one currency as it currently is. Also, they state that it the reserve requirement should be restructured in order to give CFA countries more economic freedom.
West African CFA franc | Controversy
Despite sharing the same exchange rate, the CFA franc is actually two currencies, the Central African CFA franc and the West African CFA franc, which are run by their respective central banks in Central and West Africa. The foreign exchange reserves of member countries are pooled and each of the two African central banks keeps 65% of its foreign reserves with the French Treasury. The franc zone was intended to provide African countries with monetary stability, with member countries such as Ivory Coast experiencing relatively low inflation at an average rate of 6% over the past 50 years compared to 29% in neighboring Ghana, a non-member country.
Françafrique | Franc zone
The franc zone, a currency union in sub-Saharan Africa, was established when the CFA franc (or "franc de la Communauté Financière Africaine") was created in 1945 as a colonial currency for over a dozen of France's African colonies. The zone continues to exist even after the colonies had achieved their independence in the early 1960s, with only three African countries ever leaving the zone, mostly for reasons of national prestige. One of the three countries, Mali, rejoined the zone in 1984. The CFA franc was pegged to the French franc (now the euro) and its convertibility was guaranteed by the French Treasury.
Françafrique | Franc zone
The frange (Albanian) or franc (French) was the currency of the Republic of Korçë (also written "Koritza" on the currency) between 1917 and 1921. It was subdivided into 100 "centimes". The currency was introduced during the period of French occupation. It was only issued in paper money form, with notes issued in denominations of 50 centimes, 1 and 5 frange. After the end of the French occupation, the frange was replaced by the skender in 1921.
Korçë frange | Introduction
2000 franc notes were introduced in 1993. The country letter codes are as follows:
Central African CFA franc | Banknotes
Despite titular differences in some of the coinage, all were legal and exchangeable tender in all member nations. In 1996, centralized production of the 100-franc coin was resumed, with a single 500-franc coin reintroduced in 1998. Despite dropping state names and code letters, the overall design of the coins remained relatively unchanged.
Central African CFA franc | Coins
The peso was the currency of Guinea-Bissau from 1975 to 1997 and was divided into 100 centavos. It replaced the escudo at par. In 1997, in an effort to stop high inflation, Guinea-Bissau adopted the CFA franc, using a conversion rate of 65 pesos to the franc.
Guinea-Bissau peso | Introduction
The Malagasy franc (French: "franc malgache") was equivalent to the French franc and French coins continued to circulate as Madagascar had no coins of its own until 1943. When the Comoros became a separate French territory in 1945, the name of the issuing bank was changed to the "Banque de Madagascar et des Comores" (still headquartered in Paris). A branch office opened in Comoros in 1953. While the banknotes were changed to reflect the new status of Comoros, the coins were not changed and bore only the name Madagascar. On 26 December 1945, the Madagascar-Comores CFA franc was established and its value was fixed at 1.7 French francs.
Comorian franc | History
The Guinean franc was reintroduced as Guinea's currency in 1985, at par with the syli. The coins came in denominations of 1, 5 and 10 francs made of brass clad steel, with brass 25 francs (1987) and cupronickel 50 francs (1994) added later. Banknotes were first issued in denominations of 25, 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 francs. Guinean notes of this series are unique from those of other countries in that the date of issue features very prominently as part of the overall design on the lower left hand corner of each note. A second series issued in 1998 dropped the 25 and 50 francs banknotes, since they had been replaced by coins.
Guinean franc | Second Guinean franc
The French franc circulated on Réunion alone (except for a single coin issue) until 1874, when distinct issues of currency commenced. Initially, notes of the Banque de la Réunion and the Colonial Treasury circulated alongside French currency. In 1896, coins were issued, followed by bank tokens in 1920. In 1945, the CFA franc was created and was adopted in Réunion, with distinct coins introduced in 1948. Although Réunion's paper money was stamped with the equivalent value in new francs from 1960, the new franc did not replace the Réunion franc until 1975, when French currency replaced Réunion's at a rate of 1 French (new) franc = 50 Réunion (CFA) francs.
Réunion franc | History
The West African CFA franc (; or simply "franc", ISO 4217 code: XOF) is the currency of eight independent states in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. These eight countries had a combined population of 105.7 million people in 2014, and a combined GDP of US$128.6 billion (as of 2018). The acronym CFA stands for ' ("Financial Community of Africa") or ' ("African Financial Community"). The currency is issued by the BCEAO ("Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest", "Central Bank of the West African States"), located in Dakar, Senegal, for the members of the UEMOA ("Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine", "West African Economic and Monetary Union").
West African CFA franc | Introduction
For coins struck prior to the CFA franc, see French West African franc In 1948, aluminium 1 and 2 franc coins were introduced. These were followed in 1956 by aluminium-bronze 5, 10, and 25 francs. All carried the name ""Afrique Occidentale Française"". In 1957, 10 and 25 franc coins were issued with the name of ""Togo"" were minted for use in that country, these were issued only for that year. From 1959, all coins have been issued by the BCEAO. From 1959 onward, the overall size and composition of the coins changed little, however ""République français"" and the stylized Marianne bust was dropped from all coins, replaced with the title ""Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest"" with the design on the 1, 5, 10, and 25 francs featuring a gazelle's profile, carried over from colonial issues, and a tribal mask between the denomination, which has become the emblem of the West African monetary union.
West African CFA franc | Coins
The first Comorian paper money was issued in 1920. It consisted of an emergency issue of Madagascar postage stamps fixed to card to allow them to circulate as money. Denominations of 50 centimes and 1 franc were issued. Loi ordinaire 62-873 du 31 juillet 1962, Article 12, allowed the Banque de Madagascar et des Comores to continue issuing notes in Comoros after Madagascar began issuing its own currency but, beginning 1 April 1962, they had "" overstamped on them. Denominations of 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 francs were issued. As per Décret 64-1038 du 07 octobre 1964, banknotes without the overstamp ceased to be legal tender on 31 December 1964.
Comorian franc | Banknotes
The franc was the currency of French Cameroun. It was subdivided into 100 centimes.
French Camerounian franc | Introduction
Currency: Central African CFA franc (FCFA; since 1945)"See also Central African CFA franc."
List of people on banknotes | <a href="Central%20African%20Republic">Central African Republic</a>/<a href="Central%20African%20Empire">Central African Empire</a>
In 1944, aluminium-bronze 50 centimes and 1 franc coins were issued. These were the only coins struck before the introduction of the CFA franc.
French West African franc | Coins
The French franc was a commonly held international reserve currency of reference in the 19th and 20th centuries.
French franc | Introduction
In 1924, aluminium-bronze 50 centimes, 1 and 2 francs coins were introduced and were struck until 1926. These were the only coins issued until 1943, when the Free French issued bronze 50 centimes and 1 franc. Aluminium 1 and 2 francs were issued in 1948. (This needs correcting. Camerounian 25 Franc coins exist) Since the introduction of the CFA franc, Cameroon has issued 50 francs in 1960, 100 francs since 1966 and 500 francs since 1985.
French Camerounian franc | Coins
The first franc paper money issues were made in 1795. They were assignats in denominations between 100 and 10,000 francs. These followed in 1796 by "territorial mandate promises" for 25 up to 500 francs. The treasury also issued notes that year for 25 up to 1000 francs. In 1800, the Bank of France began issuing notes, first in denominations of 500 and 1000 francs. In the late 1840s, 100 and 200-franc notes were added, while 5, 20 and 50 francs were added in the 1860s and 70s, although the 200-franc note was discontinued. The First World War saw the introduction of 10 and 1000-franc notes.
French franc | Banknotes
Critics argue that in exchange for the guarantees provided by the French treasury, African countries channel more money to France than they receive in aid. They also argue that they have no say in deciding key monetary policies.
CFA franc | Criticism
The franc (; ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It was reintroduced (in decimal form) in 1795. After two centuries of inflation, it was revalued in 1960, with each (NF) being worth 100 old francs. The NF designation was continued for a few years before the currency returned to being simply the franc; some mostly older French residents continued to reference and value items in terms of the old franc (equivalent to the new centime) until the introduction of the euro (for coins and banknotes) in 2002.
French franc | Introduction
The French franc became the currency of Comoros after the islands became a French protectorate in 1886. In 1891, Sultan Said Ali bin Said Omar of Grande Comore (Ngazidja) issued coins denominated in centimes and francs which circulated alongside French currency. In 1912, the Comoros became a province of Madagascar, which was also a French possession. French banknotes and coins circulated in the colony. Apart from an emergency issue of small change notes in 1920, the French currency circulated alone until 1925. On 1 July 1925, the French government formed an agreement with the "Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas" to create the "Banque de Madagascar", headquartered in Paris, and granted it a private monopoly to issue currency for the colony of Madagascar.
Comorian franc | History
The Central Africa CFA franc (XAF) is known in French as the , where CFA stands for ("Financial Cooperation in Central Africa"). It is issued by the BEAC (, i.e., "Bank of the Central African States"), located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for the six countries of the CEMAC (, i.e., "Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa"): These six countries have a combined population of 45.0 million people (as of 2013), and a combined GDP of US$88.2 billion (as of 2012). In 1975, Central African CFA banknotes were issued with an obverse unique to each participating country, and common reverse, in a fashion similar to euro coins.
CFA franc | Central African
The overstamped notes circulated until 1976, when 500, 1000 and 5000 francs were introduced by the Institut d'Émission des Comores, the 50 and 100 franc notes being replaced by coins. The central Bank took over production of paper money in 1984. 2500 and 10,000 franc notes were introduced in 1997, followed by 2000 francs in 2005. The 2,500-franc note was demonetized on 31 January 2007. Comorian banknotes are printed by the Banque de France at their paper mill in Vic-le-Comte and their printing works in Chamalières, both in Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne. The 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, and 10,000 franc notes dated 2005 and 2006 contain the EURion constellation, along with other improved security features to make them more difficult to counterfeit.
Comorian franc | Banknotes
In 1888 the "Banque de la Guyane" introduced 100 and 500 francs notes, followed by 25 francs in 1910. Emergency issues of 1 and 2 francs notes were made between 1917 and 1919 with regular-type 5 francs notes introduced in 1922. Further emergency issues of 1 and 2 francs were made between 1942 and 1945. 1000 francs notes were introduced in 1942. In 1941, the "Caisse Centrale de France Libre" (Central Cashier of the Free French) began issuing paper money, in denominations of 100 and 1000 francs. These were followed, in 1944, by similar notes in the same denominations issued by the "Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre Mer" (France).
French Guianan franc | Banknotes
Before the introduction of the euro, francs were also used in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, while Andorra and Monaco accepted the French franc as legal tender (Monegasque franc). The franc was also used within the French Empire's colonies, including Algeria and Cambodia. The franc is sometimes Italianised or Hispanicised as the "franco", for instance in Luccan franco. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The French franc symbol was F or Fr.; the symbol ₣ was suggested in France by Prime Minister Édouard Balladur, but it was never used. For practical reasons, the banks and the financial markets used the abbreviation FF for the French franc in order to distinguish it from the Belgian franc (FB), the Luxembourgish franc (FL or FLux), et cetera.
Franc | Introduction
Until 1962, Mali used the West African CFA franc. The Malian franc was introduced that year at par with the CFA franc but later declined in value relative to it. In 1984, Mali readopted the CFA franc, with 2 Malian francs = 1 CFA franc.
Malian franc | History
The franc was the currency of Réunion until 1999. Before 1975, Réunion had its own franc, distinct from that of France. After 1975, the French franc circulated. Réunion now uses the euro. The Réunion franc was subdivided into 100 "centimes".
Réunion franc | Introduction
Currency: Central African CFA franc (FCFA; since 1945)"See also Central African CFA franc."
List of people on banknotes | <a href="Chad">Chad</a>
In 2006, the third issue were introduced in denomination of 500, 1000 and 5000 francs that are similar to previous issues, but the most notable change was the use of full printing of the notes and enhanced security features on each of the notes. Another change for this issue was the size of the 500 francs was reduced. On 11 June 2007, a 10,000 franc was issued. In 2010, a commemorative series of 1000, 5000, and 10,000 francs banknotes celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of both the Guinean franc and the Banque Centrale de la République de Guinée (BCRG) was issued featuring a diamond-shaped logo of the event on the front side of each denomination inside of the watermark window to the right.
Guinean franc | Second Guinean franc
The "frange" (Albanian) or "franc" (French) was the currency of the Autonomous Albanian Republic of Korçë between 1917 and 1921. It was subdivided into 100 "centimes". The currency was introduced during the period of French occupation. It was only issued in paper money form, with notes issued in denominations of 50 centimes, 1 and 5 frange. Both paper money and post stamps were engraved by the soldier Davier (a student of Louis-Oscar Roty).
Autonomous Albanian Republic of Korçë | Currency
Currency: Franc (since 1920)Symbol: CF"See also Comorian franc."
List of people on banknotes | <a href="Comoros">Comoros</a>
The "Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale" ("Bank of West Africa") began issuing notes in 1903. 100 franc notes were introduced that year, followed by 5 francs in 1904, 500 francs in 1912, 25 francs in 1917, 1000 francs in 1919 and 50 francs in 1920. 10 franc notes were introduced in 1943. In 1944, the government issued notes for 50 centimes, and 1 and 2 francs. The notes of the "Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale" continued to circulate after the introduction of the CFA franc.
French West African franc | Banknotes
In 1917, the General Government of French Equatorial Africa made emergency issues of 1 and 2 franc notes. A provisional issue of 25 franc notes was produced in 1925 by overprinting notes of French West Africa. No further notes were produced until 1940, when the General Government made an emergency issue of 1000 and 5000 franc notes. These were followed in 1941 by Free French issues for 5, 10, 20, 25, 100 and 1000 francs. The "Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre-Mer" took over paper money production in 1944, issuing notes for 5, 10, 20, 100 and 1000 francs. These continued to circulate as CFA francs after 1945.
French Equatorial African franc | Banknotes
right You can see here all Comorian franc banknotes
Comorian franc | Banknotes
The first franc was a gold coin introduced in 1360 to pay the ransom of King John II of France. This coin secured the king's freedom and showed him on a richly decorated horse earning it the name "franc à cheval" (meaning "free on horse" in French). The obverse legend, like other French coins, gives the king's title as "Francorum Rex" ("King of the Franks" in Latin) and provides another reason to call the coin a franc. Its value was set as one "livre tournois" (a money of account). John's son, Charles V, continued this type. It was copied exactly at Brabant and Cambrai and, with the arms on the horse cloth changed, at Flanders.
French franc | Before the French Revolution
Following the occupation of eastern Cameroon by French forces, the French franc was introduced as currency to replace the German mark. This was augmented from 1922 by local issues of paper money and by local coins from 1924. In 1958, the coins of French Equatorial Africa were issued with the name "Cameroun" added to the legend. Since then, the CFA franc of the Equatorial, then Central African States has circulated, first in French Cameroun, then the whole of Cameroon following unification with the British Southern Cameroons.
French Camerounian franc | History
Moreover, the fixed exchange rate between the CFA Franc and the French franc has changed only once in 1994 when the CFA franc was considered overvalued. However, this monetary arrangement has enabled France to control the money supply of the CFA franc and to influence the decision-making process of the African central banks through their boards.
Françafrique | Franc zone
Up to 1878, French colonies used the French franc, which was then on the gold standard. The monetary policies of Cochinchina, however, had to balance the needs of trade with France and other Europeans against the needs of trade in Asia, where the silver standard predominated. To this end France introduced the piastre in Cochinchina, which was based on the silver standard and was not tied to the French franc. This set Cochinchina, and after 1885 other French colonies in Indo-China, apart from French colonies in Africa and the Pacific, which did not have currencies independent of the French franc until the CFA franc and the CFP franc were introduced after the Second World War.
Cochinchina piastre | Economics
Along with the Spanish peseta, the French franc was also a "de facto" currency used in Andorra (which had no national currency with legal tender). It circulated alongside the Monegasque franc in Monaco, with which it had equal value. These currencies were all replaced by the euro in 2002.
French franc | "De facto" currency
A list of all currencies, current and historic. The local name of the currency is used in this list, with the adjectival form of the country or region.
List of currencies | Introduction
Currency: Central African CFA franc (FCFA; since 1945)"See also Central African CFA franc."
List of people on banknotes | <a href="Gabon">Gabon</a>
Currencies: Franc (₣, 1795–2002)Euro (€, 2002–present)"See also French franc."
List of people on banknotes | <a href="France">France</a>
The publication provides coverage for over 90 currencies, which includes the following: US dollar, Euro, Japanese yen, Argentinian peso, Australian dollar, Brazilian real, Canadian dollar, Chilean peso, Chinese renminbi, Colombian peso, Czech Koruna, Danish krone, Hong Kong dollar, Hungarian forint, Indian rupee, Indonesian rupiah, Israeli shekel, Malaysian ringgit, Mexican peso, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone, Peruvian sol, Philippine peso, Polish zloty, Romanian leu, Russian rouble, Singaporean dollar, South African rand, South Korean won, Swedish krona, Swiss franc, Taiwanese dollar, Thai baht, Turkish lira, Ukrainian hryvnia, UK pound, Venezuelan bolivar, Albanian lek, Algerian dinar, Angolan kwanza, Azerbaijani manat, Bahrain dinar, Bangladesh taka, Belarusian rouble, Bolivian boliviano, Botswana pula, Bulgarian lev, Costa Rica colon, Croatian kuna, Dominican Republic peso, Ecuadorian sucre, Egyptian pound, El Salvador colon, Georgian lari, Ghanaian cedi, Guatemalan quetzal, Guyanese dollar, Haitian gourde, Honduran lempira, Icelandic krona, Iranian rial, Iraqi dinar, Ivory Coast CFA franc, Jamaican dollar, Jordanian dinar, Kazakhstani tenge, Kenyan shilling, Kuwaiti dinar, Laos kip, Lebanese pound, Libyan dinar, Macedonian denar, Malawian kwacha, Moroccan dirham, Myanmarian kyat, Nicaraguan cordoba, Nigerian naira, Oman rial, Pakistani rupee, Paraguayan guarani, Saudi Arabian riyal, Serbian dinar, Sri Lankan rupee, Sudanese pound, Syrian pound, Tanzanian shilling, Tunisian dinar, UAE dirham, Ugandan shilling, Uruguayan peso, Vietnamese dong, Yemeni rial and Zambian kwacha.
Consensus Economics | Foreign Exchange Consensus Forecasts
When France adopted the euro, so did the French overseas departments and territories that used the French franc. The CFP franc, the CFA franc, and the Comorian franc, that are used in overseas territories and some African countries, had fixed exchange rates with the French franc, but not at par – for various historical reasons they were worth considerably less, at 1 French franc = 18.2 CFP francs, 75 Comorian francs or 100 CFA francs. The CFA franc and the Comorian franc are linked to the euro at fixed rates with free convertibility maintained at the expense of the French Treasury.
United Kingdom and the euro | Sterling zone
The franc was the currency of French Guiana until 2002. The French franc circulated alongside banknotes issued specifically for French Guyana between 1888 and 1961 and notes issued for French Guyana, Guadeloupe and Martinique (collectively referred to as the French Antilles) between 1961 and 1975. As an integral part of France, French Guiana is part of the European Union and the Eurozone, and starting in 2002, its currency is the euro.
French Guianan franc | Introduction
In 1800 the Banque de France, a federal establishment with a private board of executives, was created and commissioned to produce the national currency. In 1803, the "Franc germinal" (named after the month Germinal in the revolutionary calendar) was established, creating a gold franc containing 290.034 mg of fine gold. From this point, gold and silver-based units circulated interchangeably on the basis of a 1:15.5 ratio between the values of the two metals (bimetallism) until 1864, when all silver coins except the 5-franc piece were debased from 90% to 83.5% silver without the weights changing. This coinage included the first modern gold coins with denominations in francs.
French franc | French Empire and Restoration
Currency: Central African CFA franc (FCFA; since 1945)"See also Central African CFA franc."
List of people on banknotes | <a href="Cameroon">Cameroon</a>
The currency has been criticized for making economic planning for the developing countries of French West Africa all but impossible since the CFA's value is pegged to the euro (whose monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank). Others disagree and argue that the CFA "helps stabilize the national currencies of Franc Zone member-countries and greatly facilitates the flow of exports and imports between France and the member-countries". The European Union's own assessment of the CFA's link to the euro, carried out in 2008, noted that "benefits from economic integration within each of the two monetary unions of the CFA franc zone, and even more so between them, remained remarkably low" but that "the peg to the French franc and, since 1999, to the euro as exchange rate anchor is usually found to have had favourable effects in the region in terms of macroeconomic stability".
CFA franc | Evaluation
France was a founding member of the Latin Monetary Union (LMU), a single currency employed primarily by the Romance-speaking and other Mediterranean states between 1865 and the First World War. The common currency was based on the franc germinal, with the name franc already being used in Switzerland and Belgium, whilst other countries minted local denominations, redeemable across the bloc with 1-to-1 parity, though with local names: e.g., the peseta. In 1873, the LMU went over to a purely gold standard of 1 franc = 0.290322581 grams of gold.
French franc | Latin Monetary Union
The first series runs mainly in New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna, the second in French Polynesia, although both series have distinct legal tender in each of the regions.
CFP franc | Coins
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the French franc. Franc or francs may refer also to:
Franc (disambiguation) | Introduction
The franc is any of several units of currency. The French franc was the currency of France until the euro was adopted in 1999 (by law, 2002 de facto). The Swiss franc is a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription "francorum rex" (Style of the French sovereign: "King of the Franks") used on early French coins and until the 18th century, or from the French "franc", meaning "frank" (and "free" in certain contexts, such as "coup franc", "free kick" ). The countries that use francs include Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and most of Francophone Africa.
Franc | Introduction
Currency: Franc (FG; 1959-1971); Syli (1971-1985)"See also Guinean franc" and "Guinean syli".
List of people on banknotes | <a href="Guinea">Guinea</a>
The franc is nominally subdivided into 100 "centimes" but no centime denominations have been issued. In several west African states, the West African CFA franc, which is of equal value to the Central African CFA franc, is in circulation.
Central African CFA franc | Introduction
The "flag ticket" franc () was a currency issued by the United States for use in Allied-occupied France in the wake of the Battle of Normandy. With the swift take-over of sovereignty by General Charles de Gaulle, who considered the US occupation franc as “counterfeit money”, the currency rapidly faded out of use in favour of the pre-war French franc. First Series-Supplemental French Franc Currency. Second Series-Provisional French Franc Currency.
AM-Franc | Introduction
This draft was based on a system where all participating countries’ currencies were already fully convertible, and when the Bretton Woods system collapsed, there were no central currency to peg the currencies on and therefore the idea for monetary integration was postponed. The first step toward a more integrated monetary system in Europe was the Basel agreement which created the European Currency Snake. The Smithsonian Agreement was an international agreement outside the EU framework which provided a new dollar standard to which the EEC currencies’ exchange rates were pegged to and where the European currency snake could fluctuate within. The currencies were though still allowed to fluctuate within 2.25% of the new dollar standard.
Denmark and the euro | European Monetary System and pre-euro monetary co-operation
In 2003, bimetallic 200 and 500 franc coins were introduced, replacing smaller denomination notes. Like all the other West CFA franc coins, these depicted the mask emblem.
West African CFA franc | Coins
The 20-franc coin was composed of two rings and a centre plug.
French franc | New franc
At this moment, the new national currency, the URV would have its denomination conveniently changed to "real". The second, launched at July 1st. 1994, complemented the reform, demonetizing "" and actually issuing the "real". Also, this second instrument introduced some very important institutional changes in monetary governance, with a major reform in the , and monetary policy. The third, closing the cycle of monetary reform, was a detailed statute for indexation practices that was implemented exactly one year after the real was first issued. The URV existed as legal tender, though only as unit of account, during four months: its initial quote with respect to "cruzeiro real" was CR$ 647,50, more or less equivalent to one Dollar, as it was its final quote as CR$ 2.750,00, on July 1st, 1994, when the "cruzeiro real" was demonetized and the URV was turned into the national currency and renamed as "real".
Gustavo Franco | Plano Real
The 1960 and 1999 events are merely changes in the currency in use in France; the relative value of the CFP franc (XPF) vs. the French franc / euro is unchanged since 1949.
CFP franc | Historical exchange rates
Despite taking inspiration from the coinage produced in Xianfeng era China and despite the fact that Tự Đức Bảo Sao could be translated as "The banknotes of Tự Đức", the first series of these coinages weren't truly a fiat currency as the currency symbols were, though not 100%, based on a convertibility between them and the traditional zinc cash coinage, meaning that they can't be seen as a true fiat coinage.
Vietnamese mạch | History
In 1960, the new franc ("") was introduced, worth 100 old francs. Stainless steel 1 and 5 centimes, aluminium-bronze 10, 20, and 50 centimes, nickel 1 franc and silver 5 francs were introduced. Silver 10-franc coins were introduced in 1965, followed by a new, smaller aluminium-bronze 5-centime and a smaller nickel -franc coin in 1966. A first attempt to introduce a nickel 2-franc coin in 1960 failed. Nickel-clad copper-nickel 5-franc and nickel-brass 10-franc coins replaced their silver counterparts in 1970 and 1974, respectively. Nickel 2 francs were finally introduced in 1979, followed by bimetallic 10 francs in 1988 and trimetallic 20 francs in 1992.
French franc | New franc
Coins were never issued as even fractional units of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 centimes were issued in banknote form only.
Congolese franc | Coins
Coins were freely exchangeable until 17 February 2005 at Banque de France only (commercial banks were not required to accept the old coins after the transition period in 2002, but some did), by converting their total value in francs to euros (rounded to the nearest cent) at the fixed rate of 6.55957 francs for 1 euro. Banknotes remained convertible up until 17 February 2012. By that date, franc notes worth some €550 million remained unexchanged, allowing the French state to register the corresponding sum as revenue.
French franc | Euro exchange