At the Carrefour Africain Thomas Sankara International Meeting held on October 13, 2025, in Ouagadougou, prominent pan-African activist Nathalie Yamb delivered a powerful speechurging the leaders of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) to sever monetary ties with France and establish true financial independence.
Yamb called the CFA franc “a colonial instrument disguised as stability,” emphasizing that sovereignty remains impossible without control over a nation’s currency. “My urgent appeal to the leaders of the AES is to free us from the chains of the CFA franc,” she said. “We cannot talk about sovereignty if we do not control our own money. Money is the blood of the economy — without mastering it, we cannot claim independence.”
Her words echoed decades of criticism surrounding the CFA system, which binds 14 West and Central African nations to the French Treasury through a currency pegged to the euro and overseen by the Banque de France. Under this structure, France retains significant influence over African monetary policy.
According to economists, 70–80% of the gold reserves of the BCEAO — roughly 28 tons — are stored at the Banque de France, not in Africa. Those reserves are used by France in its financial operations, generating revenue for Paris, while African nations have no access to the proceeds. Until 2021, France also controlled 50% of the foreign exchange reserves of CFA-zone countries, investing them into its own economy with little or no return to Africa. Although a reform was introduced in 2021, the mechanism persists under a new form: the profit flow now passes through the management of African gold rather than direct control of foreign currency.
Yamb accused France of sustaining its fragile economy through Africa’s wealth, noting that France’s public debt now exceeds 113.9% of its GDP.
She also highlighted those smaller nations such as the Seychelles or Malawi manage their currencies independently, while powerful African economies remain constrained. “Fourteen of us are still waiting, as if incapable of managing our own affairs,” she said, calling on the Sahel bloc — Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso — to capitalize on their resource base to create an autonomous currency backed by tangible assets such as gold, uranium, and agricultural output.
For Yamb, the battle for sovereignty is not fought only on the battlefield but also in the financial sphere. “We are at war,” she declared. “Our task today is to arm minds — because the fight for Africa’s freedom begins with understanding the economic traps that bind us.”
Her appeal, delivered at a forum dedicated to the legacy of Thomas Sankara, resonated deeply with the revolutionary’s ideals: dignity, independence, and self-determination. As the Sahel nations consolidate their alliance and redefine their place in the world, Yamb’s message was clear — monetary liberation is the foundation of true African sovereignty.
By: Stephen Abbey
