On April 25, 2023, the ministerial meeting of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (Cemac) and France is held.
On the French side, the guarantee provided to the CFA franc, and the assurance of its convertibility, is perceived as a vector of economic stability for the region.
According to the BBC, "critics, such as those leading the anti-CFA movement, say true economic development for the 14 African countries can only be achieved if they get rid of the currency.
They argue that in exchange for the guarantees provided by the French treasury, African countries channel more money to France than they receive in aid.
They also argue that they have no say in deciding key monetary policies agreed to by European countries, which are members of the Eurozone.
50 franc coins with the letter "A" were issued for Chad, "B" for Central African Republic, "C" for Congo, "D" for Gabon, and "E" for Cameroon.
Despite dropping state names and code letters, the overall design of the coins remained relatively unchanged.
All newer coins depict the acronym "CEMAC" for "Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale".
In 1957, the Institut d'Émission de l'Afrique Équatoriale Française et du Cameroun took over paper money production, issuing all of the earlier denominations except for the 500 -franc bill.
[citation needed] In 1961, the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique Équatoriale et du Cameroun took over banknote production, with notes below 100 francs ceasing to be issued.
The name of the bank changed to Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique Équatoriale in 1963.