Comments by "bart thomassen thomassen" (@thomassenbart) on "France secretly owns 14 countries" video.

  1. This is bullshit. France does not own any African countries. The CFA is a benefit to those nations, which keeps their currencies stable and none of them must keep this currency. This conspiracy theory needs to go away. It is common to hear in Africa but is wrong and used as a distraction by the corrupt leaders of the various nations, to blame the old European power, for a lack of progress, rather than admitting to the outright theft they and their cronies have indulged in over the decades since independence. No imperialism was not spread through tanks. Learn a little history. Africa did not decolonize itself. Exchange rates have little to do with wealth transfers, especially if the rate is fixed and not floated. Simply look at the US dollar relative to various currencies such as the Yen, the Euro traditionally or previous, the various national currencies. The US has had a massive trade imbalance with the world since the 1970s though the exchange rate has the value of the dollar superior to almost all currencies, (traditionally the pound and Deutsh Mark were stronger than the dollar and the Euro also). Further, the assumption that France was gaining a great deal from Africa, is false and not borne out by the traditional expenditures during colonialism nor post-independence. None of these African nations held anything significant at the time nor the internal wealth to profit from. Ahmed Sékou Touré was a dictator, who during his regime assassinated some 50,000 political opponents, so... Assuming France is stealing African wealth is just economically ignorant. The 14 CFA-using nations need a central place to put their joint foreign reserves. Should they all place it in Senegal? "Hell, no," say the Africans. "We don't trust the Senegalese. They could run away with our money." Africans generally distrust other Africans. They have more confidence in a European government, where there is consistent accountability and rule of law. France pays 0.75 percent interest on the reserves, which the French can't touch. In 2018, Africans had about $10 billion safely kept in the French treasury. This is peanuts compared to France's $2.5 trillion debt. France isn't tempted to put its fingers in the $10 billion cookie jar, but Chad would be...If the CFA truly hindered development, then why haven’t Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ghana, and Nigeria left their CFA-using neighbors in the economic dust? https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjOzKjetpv-AhXmL0QIHSfnAyUQFnoECA4QAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffrancistapon.com%2FBooks%2FThe-Unseen-Africa%2FThe-Worlds-Most-Misunderstood-Currency-The-African-CFA%23%3A~%3Atext%3DThis%2520myth%2520comes%2520from%2520the%2Cto%2520hire%2520expensive%2520Russian%2520prostitutes.&usg=AOvVaw2Xt4zSr1NDAJiBCZJODh8t The CFA franc monetary system is designed to guarantee the franc currency in international markets, while simultaneously preventing overdraft and inflation in CFA member countries. Between the early 1950s and the mid-1980s, CFA franc countries had stronger real GDP growth and lower inflation than other sub-Saharan African countries. For example, within the past 50 years, Côte d’Ivoire experienced an average inflation rate of 6%—a much lower rate than its neighbor Ghana, which averaged 29% inflation. From 1960 to 1978, Cote d’Ivoire averaged an annual GDP growth rate of 9.5%, which then stagnated, while Ghana’s GDP responded positively to structural adjustment programs in the 1980s. Cote d’Ivoire, among other CFA countries, did not respond immediately to structural adjustment programs. Strong growth and low inflation from the early independence period did not survive the economic shocks of 1986 to 1993, and the CFA became significantly overvalued and subject to increasing deficits in the French Treasury’s operations accounts. Domestic production lapsed, and African countries increasingly relied on imported materials. CFA countries’ public debt increased and central banks exceeded statutory ceilings, leading to significant fiscal imbalances. In 1994, France devalued the CFA franc, raising the parity rate from 50 CFA francs per French franc to 100 CFA francs per French franc. CFA member countries’ governments imposed wage freezes and layoffs in the wake of the CFA devaluation, leading to widespread unrest over inaccessible goods for consumers and unmanageable price controls for suppliers. Monetary policies that were effective in achieving real exchange rate depreciation also resulted in a reduction in government expenditures and a decline in investment. As a positive effect, the unlimited convertibility of the CFA franc to the euro has generally reduced the risk of foreign investment in CFA countries. However, foreign investment in CFA countries remains low relative to other emerging economies, such as the BRICS economies that include South Africa. Guinea, which has its own currency, still stands as an example for supporters of the CFA zone. Guinea frequently experiences currency shortages and its central bank does not have sufficient policies to ensure stability, so the CFA zone is presented as a solution to instability in this particular case. Overall, policymakers from the CFA franc zone should analyze the various options to determine a short-term and long-term plan that will increase growth and lead to equitable development of countries that are at different stages. African and European leaders must be resolute and accountable to the various interest groups throughout their two continents. Any restructuring of the CFA franc will have drastic macroeconomic effects that will require an increase in public investment and provision of public goods, attractive investment policies, development aid, and resource mobilization. The future of the CFA franc is yet to be determined, but it deserves comprehensive, sensitive analysis. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjOzKjetpv-AhXmL0QIHSfnAyUQFnoECCYQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brookings.edu%2Fopinions%2Fhow-the-france-backed-african-cfa-franc-works-as-an-enabler-and-barrier-to-development%2F&usg=AOvVaw3PuFgMq-LagdRao2zIl74E
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  2. Your gut reaction and response to this very biased video, were/are incorrect.
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