PARIS
Eight West African countries announced their intent to cease using the CFA franc, a France-backed currency used by former colonies in the region, beginning July 1, and renamed a common currency, the Eco.
At a Dec. 21 joint news conference at the Petits Palais in Abidjan, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara and French President Emmanuel Macron disclosed that Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo will no longer use the CFA.
The countries are members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, or WAEMU, and all, except Guinea-Bissau, are former French colonies.
Six Anglophone
Read more: West African countries change currency, shed French ties
