7 ms·

This was a good read. I had no idea any of this was going on. Though I still don't understand why the ex French colonies just don't say no. It's not like France

This was a good read. I had no idea any of this was going on. Though I still don't understand why the ex French colonies just don't say no. It's not like France would send in the army. I'm guessing France would confiscate 85% of their reserves and that is enough of a deterrent?

rdtsc 12y ago
> Though I still don't understand why the ex French colonies just don't say no. Economic & political pressure. If they break "agreements" they might find themselves with sanctions. Now they can't sell the cocoa or the oil. Or France would play one country against each -- "start a conflict with your neighbor in exchange for ... something"
- unwind 12y ago
  I'm not an expert, but losing France as a customer of cocoa (especially now after the panic about dwindling supplies, see http://www.ibtimes.com/chocolate-crisis-world-running-out-cocoa-1725909 http://www.ibtimes.com/chocolate-crisis-world-running-out-co...) doesn't seem like a huge deal. :) Also "oil" is generally pretty salable, there ought to be other customers.
  - ptaipale 12y ago
    If losing France would mean an EU embargo - which is a bit doubtful IMO - that would be more significant. But I don't think it's feasible to say that France could prevent a former colony from selling oil when we see that the so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq - way beyond pariah - makes significant profits in oil sales. http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2014/08/28/Experts-ISIS-makes-up-to-3-million-daily-in-oil-sales.html http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2014/08...
bsaul 12y ago
France has a lot of troops in africa, protecting civilians whenever a civil war erupts ( like in operation licorne in cote d'ivoire) , or more recently in mali, to fight against djihadist groups spreading chaos. This article reads like propaganda to me. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that france still has unjustified commercial priviledges,espeically in the oil business, but the monetary things reads like a complete misunderstanding of central bank monetary stability policies ( franc cfa is exceptionnaly stable compared to the poor politicial stability of the area).
- bane 12y ago
  Unlike the U.S., I don't think French foreign military involvement is all that well known or understood.
deleted 12y ago
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rdtsc 12y ago

> Though I still don't understand why the ex French colonies just don't say no. Economic & political pressure. If they break "agreements" they might find themselves with sanctions. Now they can't sell the cocoa or the oil. Or France would play one country against each -- "start a conflict with your neighbor in exchange for ... something"

unwind 12y ago
I'm not an expert, but losing France as a customer of cocoa (especially now after the panic about dwindling supplies, see http://www.ibtimes.com/chocolate-crisis-world-running-out-cocoa-1725909 http://www.ibtimes.com/chocolate-crisis-world-running-out-co...) doesn't seem like a huge deal. :) Also "oil" is generally pretty salable, there ought to be other customers.
- ptaipale 12y ago
  If losing France would mean an EU embargo - which is a bit doubtful IMO - that would be more significant. But I don't think it's feasible to say that France could prevent a former colony from selling oil when we see that the so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq - way beyond pariah - makes significant profits in oil sales. http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2014/08/28/Experts-ISIS-makes-up-to-3-million-daily-in-oil-sales.html http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2014/08...

bsaul 12y ago

France has a lot of troops in africa, protecting civilians whenever a civil war erupts ( like in operation licorne in cote d'ivoire) , or more recently in mali, to fight against djihadist groups spreading chaos. This article reads like propaganda to me. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that france still has unjustified commercial priviledges,espeically in the oil business, but the monetary things reads like a complete misunderstanding of central bank monetary stability policies ( franc cfa is exceptionnaly stable compared to the poor politicial stability of the area).

bane 12y ago
Unlike the U.S., I don't think French foreign military involvement is all that well known or understood.

deleted 12y ago

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