Beninese President Patrice Talon announced Thursday evening the “withdrawal of CFA franc foreign exchange reserves” which are in France and his wish to see former President Boni Yayi, currently in exile, return to the country.

"We all agree on this, unanimously, to put an end to this model," said President Talon in an interview with RFI radio and the France 24 channel, assuring that this model was above all a “psychological problem” and not a “technical one”.

“The central bank of the African countries of the WAMU (West African Monetary Union) will manage all of these foreign currency reserves and will distribute them to the various partner central banks in the world”, assured the head of the bank. State of Benin, declaring that this would be done “very quickly”, but without giving a precise timetable.

In early October, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said France was open to an "ambitious reform" of the CFA franc. He said he was waiting for the 15 countries that share this currency attached to the euro “to decide what they want”, at a time when West Africa plans to create its own single currency.

"We are available and we are ready," he said at the end of a meeting of finance ministers and governors of the franc zone countries.

Established in 1945, fifteen years before the independence of the French colonies, the value of the CFA franc is now indexed to the euro (1 euro = 655.96 CFA francs) which keeps African economies dependent European monetary policy, a situation regularly accused of “neo-colonialism”.

Beninese Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni had already been the only African representative to speak at the press conference after the meeting on behalf of the countries of the Umoa (West African Monetary Union) zone, which includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

Reforms
“We are working hand in hand with France”, he said, while recalling that the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) – including Ghana – have started agreement for the adoption by 2020 of a single currency – the eco – which would sound the death knell for the CFA franc in this region.

The Beninese head of state also made a gesture of appeasement of the political crisis which has shaken the country since the legislative elections in April, to which the opposition had not been able to present lists of candidates. Patrice Talon “wished” the “return to Benin” of former President Boni Yayi, who is currently in exile after his home in Cotonou was surrounded for nearly two months by the police.

Due to the “nobility of his function” as a former head of state, his political adversary must be “subject to special treatment”.

“The people could perceive it badly”, underlined Patrice Talon. “Boni Yayi was involved in what happened” during the post-election violence which began on May 1 in Cotonou and left several people dead by gunshots, according to the Head of State, who added to him “to have make it understood”.

Earlier in the day, the Beninese president, strongly criticized for having initiated an authoritarian turn in a country reputed to be a democratic model in West Africa, promulgated the new Constitution, already unanimously approved by Parliament and the Constitutional Court.

Among the reforms, we note the impossibility of serving "more than two presidential terms for life", which already excludes a potential candidacy of former President Yayi (2006-2016).

The 2021 presidential election would depend on Talon's "state of mind"
Parliament has also validated an amnesty procedure, which allows not to initiate proceedings against the former head of state, nor against the police who, according to President Talon, act to protect themselves.

He explained that the post-electoral violence was “a global responsibility” of the people of Benin, but that he was in fact “the first to (of) take responsibility”.

President Talon assured that his own candidacy for the 2021 presidential election would depend on his “state of mind”, the “political environment” and reform to “strengthen political parties”.

Asked that his two biggest political opponents from the previous 2016 presidential election are both barred from running by court orders and are currently living in exile in France, President Talon said they "must hold themselves accountable of their actions”.