Abstract

The recent notation degradation of the sovereign debt of the Euro area countries was at the origin of some confusing rumours on the effects of the loss of “Triple-A rating” for these countries as well as for the Franc Zone African Countries (PAZF). The need to protect the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) together with the lack ofeconomic competitiveness of the PAZF caused by the structural overvaluation of the CFAFranc and the no optimality of the Franc Zone are some of the destabilizing factors of the CFAlikely to induce queries about the zone including that which concerns the revision of the currency parity. The financial forfeiture of the Euro countries in general, and in France in particular, provides the opportunity to reconsider the current monetary anchoring by envisaging several happier perspectives for the PAZF, beginning with the keeping of the status quo o the building of the competitiveness of the African economies with the creation of a “CEMAC Franc” or a “WAEMU Franc” within the framework of a system of fixed exchange rates with margins of fluctuations. Irrespective of the policy adopted, the ultimate objective shall be to gradually move towards the “post- CFA” era which shall be followed by the creation of a unique African currency before 2020. This discussion goes well beyond the traditional analyses on the need to revise the 1972 and 1973 agreements between France and PAZF as it incorporates elements of the 2011 financial crisis in the debate.

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