| The CFP franc (in French: franc Pacifique or
franc CFP ; CFP stood for Colonies françaises du Pacifique (i.e. "French colonies of the Pacific") and
is now standing for Change franc Pacifique (i.e. "Pacific franc exchange"); ISO
4217 currency code: XPF) is a currency, called "franc" in everyday
conversation, used in the French overseas "country" of French Polynesia, in the French sui generis
collectivity of New Caledonia, and in the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and
Futuna.
It was created in December 1945, together with the CFA franc. The reason for the creation of these francs was the weakness of the French franc immediately after the Second
World War. When France ratified the Bretton Woods
Agreement in December 1945, the French franc was devalued in order to set a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. New currencies were created in the French colonies to spare them the strong devaluation of December
1945. René Pleven, the French
minister of finance, was quoted saying: "In a show of her generosity and selflessness, metropolitan France, wishing not to impose
on her far-away daughters the consequences of her own poverty, is setting different exchange rates for their currency." The
CFA franc and the other colonial currencies were set at a fixed exchange rate
with the French franc, but the CFP franc, however, was set at a fixed
exchange rate with the US dollar, which played a major role in the economy of the
French Pacific territories since the Second World War. That
situation ended in September 1949 when the CFP franc was given a fixed exchange rate with
the French franc.
The CFP franc is issued by the IEOM (Institut d'émission d'outre-mer, i.e. "Overseas Issuing Institute") since 1967. The IEOM has its headquarters in Paris.
Exchange rate:
- December 26, 1945 to September 20, 1949 - Fixed
exchange with the US dollar at 1 USD = 49.6 XPF. Non-fixed exchange rate with the French franc, which devaluates 4 times vs. the
US dollar. From 1 XPF = 2.40 FRF (FRF = French franc) in December 1945, the exchange rate reaches 1 XPF = 5.50 FRF in September
1949
- September 21, 1949 to December 31, 1959 - Fixed
exchange rate with the French franc at 1 XPF = 5.50 FRF
- January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1998 - Fixed
exchange rate with the French franc at 1 XPF = 0.055 FRF (January 1, 1960: 100 'old' francs became 1 'new' franc)
- January 1, 1999 onward - Fixed exchange rate with the euro at 1,000 XPF = 8.38 euro (January 1, 1999: euro replaced FRF at the rate of 6.55957 FRF for 1 euro)
The 1960 and 1999 events are merely changes in the
currency in use in France: the relative value of the CFP franc (XPF) vs. the French franc / euro is unchanged since 1949.
External links
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