During the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s 2015 Saviours’ Day address, “The Intensifying Universal Cry For Justice,” he gave special mention to France and its continued economic exploitation of the African continent.
After reading off a list of francophone (French-speaking) African countries, Minister Farrakhan read from an article that mentioned 14 African countries that had been forced by France to “pay a colonial tax.” Some of the countries he named included Benin, Chad, Morocco, Rwanda, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
“A hoard of cash sits in the Bank of France, billions of dollars in African money held in trust by
the French government, earning three-quarters of one percent of interest. Watch this. The African countries under France have got to put 85 percent of their Federal Reserve in the Bank of France and they keep only 15 percent,” Minister Farrakhan said, quoting the article.
“France allows them to access only 15 percent of the money in any given year. If they (Africa) need more than that, they have to borrow the extra money from their own 85 percent from the French Treasury at commercial lending rates,” Minister Farrakhan explained.
Continuing to read from the article, he said, “We often accuse African leaders of corruption and serving Western nations’ interests instead. But there is a clear explanation for that behavior.”
He added, “They behave so because they are afraid to be killed or the victim of a coup. And whenever any newly independent French colony wanted to be free from France, they were either killed or a coup, if they didn’t come in line.”
Senegalese economist Dr. Ndongo Samba Sylla, who co-authored the 2018 must-read book “Africa’s Last Colonial Currency: The CFA Franc Story,” labeled this exploitation as: “The invisible weapon of Franco-African imperialism.”
If you think this theme is dated or something from the past, a recent headline, “These 10 African Countries Still Pay France’s Colonial Tax Through the CFA Franc System in 2025,” on the Africanvibes.com news site will alleviate that misconception.
Dorothy Tiyah, a writer specializing in “African development,” noted that, after decades of being exploited by a system of economic exploitation, so-called Francophone former colonies are still obligated to pay France, which still amounts to a form of colonial tax.
According to Tiyah, “Historically, member states were required to deposit a fixed percentage of their foreign exchange reserves into an ‘operations account’ held at the Banque de France. For decades, this was as high as 65 percent plus 20 percent for financial liabilities, totaling up to 85 percent of reserves in some years.”
Several other media outlets and analysts confirm that France is still utilizing this system of exploitation on the African continent. However, African nations are pushing back against this exploitation with several recent anti-colonial movements, notably in Burkina Faso and Mali.
France’s response to Africa’s anti-colonial movements is driven by the “defeat of France in Indochina in 1954 and the conference of ‘non-aligned’ countries, held in April 1955 in Bandung (Indonesia),” noted Dr. Sylla.
The colonial power sought to repress movements to throw off its yoke of oppression. At the same time as in some countries, such as Cameroon, it (France) endeavored to repress local independence movements ferociously, Dr. Sylla explained in his book, “Africa’s Last Colonial Currency.”
Returning to power in 1958 and not wanting to lose control of its colonial empire, French General Charles de Gaulle launched the idea of a community that would replace the French Union and unite the French nation with its overseas territories, Dr. Sylla continued.
According to de Gaulle, “Every territory will become a state that will govern itself, while areas such as foreign policy, defense, the currency, economic and financial policy, raw materials, the control of justice, higher education and distant communications will constitute a common domain,” noted Dr. Sylla.
It was not until 2022, with leaders such as Ibrahim Traoré—then a relatively unknown military officer —who led a coup that ousted the transitional government in Burkina Faso and developed alliances with Mali and Niger, that there was some sense of hope for the continent, and a pan-African movement was being revived.
“Just 34 years old, he stood to be the youngest head of state in the world. What followed was a change in vision and philosophy, not only a change of leadership,” wrote Abdiaziz Bashir, a university lecturer, researcher, and Pan-Africanist, in an article published on the Pambuzuka News, about Traoré.
“Traoré has positioned himself as a voice of opposition against neocolonial rule, especially French influence in West Africa, not only as a transitional figure but as a long-term visionary leader.
Expelling French troops, terminating military cooperation with France, and looking for diverse alliances with other African countries and rising global players.
He has taken audacious steps to recover national sovereignty. Invoking themes of dignity, freedom, and African pride, his speeches often reflect the revolutionary tones of Sankara,” Bashir wrote.
Traoré’s position and stance to stand up against France has garnered respect from many people and earlier this year, rallies in support of him took place in several countries around the world.
In remarks attributed to Traoré, which he reportedly directed at Western governments in September, the young general said, “We do not need lessons in democracy from those who plundered our land for centuries,” reported Pambuzuka News.
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