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.<p>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.<p>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.
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.<p>[1]: <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/the-next-asia-is-africa-inside-the-continents-rapid-economic-growth/257441/" rel="nofollow">http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/the...</a>
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. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Alg%C3%A9rie_Flight_5017#Passengers_and_crew" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Alg%C3%A9rie_Flight_5017#P...</a>
There is a documentary with accusation about previous french presidents arriving home in France with suit cases of dollars.<p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-france-graft-idUSTRE78B4DA20110912" rel="nofollow">http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-france-graft-id...</a>
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?
(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?