The CFA franc was born on December 26, 1945, the day France ratified the Bretton Woods Agreement and made its first declaration of parity to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It means “franc of the French colonies of Africa”.
It was later called the “African Financial Community franc” for the member states of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU), and the “Central African Financial Cooperation franc” for the member countries of the Central African Monetary Union (CAMU).
Parity of the CFA franc
| Creation of the FCFA | 26th December 1945 | 1 FCFA = 1.70 FF |
| Devaluation of the French franc (FF) | October 17th 1948 | 1 FCFA = 2,00 FF |
| Introduction of the new French franc | January 1, 1960 | 1 FCFA = 0.02 FF |
| Devaluation of the FCFA | January 12, 1994 | 1 FCFA = 0,01 FF |
| Pegging of the CFAF to the euro | January 1st, 1999 | 655.957 FCFA = 1 euro |