DEBATING the merits of the cfa franc, says Guy Marius Sagna, a Senegalese activist, "is like discussing the advantages and disadvantages of slavery." That is a ridiculous analogy. But the past year has seen protests in several cities against the currency, used by 14 countries in west and central Africa and supported by France, the former colonial power. One firebrand was deported from Senegal after burning a cfa franc note. A director of La Francophonie, a union of French-speaking nations, was suspended after writing an explosive article on the topic. The agitators are few, but thev have hit a nerve.
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