CFP franc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| CFP franc franc pacifique (French) |
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| ISO 4217 Code | XPF | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| User(s) | New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna | ||
| Inflation | 2.3% (French Polynesia 2005 est.), -0.6% (New Caledonia 2000 est.) | ||
| Source | The World Factbook | ||
| Pegged with | XPF = 0.00838 euro | ||
| Subunit | |||
| 1/100 | centime | ||
| Symbol | F | ||
| Coins | 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 francs | ||
| Banknotes | 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000 francs | ||
| Central bank | Institut d'émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM) | ||
| Website | www.ieom.fr | ||
The CFP franc 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. Its name in French: franc pacifique or franc CFP, stood for Colonies françaises du Pacifique ("French colonies of the Pacific") and now stands for Change Franc Pacifique ("Pacific Franc Exchange"). Its ISO 4217 currency code is XPF.
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[edit] 1945–1949
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. However, the CFP franc 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.
[edit] 1949–1985
The CFP franc has been issued by the IEOM (Institut d'émission d'outre-mer, "Overseas Issuing Institute") since 1967. The IEOM has its headquarters in Paris.
Two slightly different sets of banknotes (bills) were issued: one set was used in French Polynesia, while the other set was used in New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna (and also in Vanuatu before its independence). They shared the same design, but French Polynesia banknotes had the overprint "Papeete", while the other banknotes had the overprint "Nouméa".
[edit] Since 1985
The new highest denomination 10,000 CFP franc banknote (83.8 euro) issued in 1985 was the first one that was not overprinted with a city name. The 500 franc banknote, issued in 1992, and the 1000 and 5000 franc banknotes, issued in 1996, are also without the overprint. The designs of the 500, 1000, 5000 franc banknotes did not change.
Today, all banknotes are strictly identical from New Caledonia to French Polynesia. One side of the banknotes shows landscapes or historical figures of New Caledonia, while the other side of the banknotes shows landscapes or historical figures of French Polynesia.
The coins are still separated in two sets: one side of the coins is identical from New Caledonia to French Polynesia, while the other side of the coins is inscribed with the name "New Caledonia" in New Caledonia and in Wallis and Futuna, and with the name "French Polynesia" in French Polynesia. Both sets of coins can be used in all three French territories. The situation of the CFP coins is thus quite similar to that of the euro coins, which have a national side but can be used in all countries of the euro zone.
[edit] Historical exchange rates
- 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 reached 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 EUR (January 1, 1999: EUR replaced FRF at the rate of 6.55957 FRF = 1.00 EUR)
The 1960 event is merely a change in the currency in use in France; the relative value of the CFP franc (XPF) vs. the French franc is unchanged from 1949 to 1999.
Now the Institut d'émission d'outre-mer states the conversion rate in either direction: "1 XPF = 0.00838 €; 1 € = 119.3317 XPF". In a strict mathematical sense, either one is an approximation of the other:
- 1 / 0.00838 = 119.331742243437...
- 1 / 119.3317 = 0.008380002966...
Therefore, it is more likely that the link is defined as 1 XPF = 0.00838 EUR.
Note that both definitions are different from the pre-euro rate:
- 1 XPF = 0.055 FRF ~ 0.008384696... EUR, inversely
- 1 EUR = 6.55957 FRF ~ 119.264909... XPF
That means CFP franc devalued slightly against French franc / euro in 1999.
[edit] Peculiarities
Before the French regulated the currency on Tahiti, French Polynesia, traders often used the Chilean dollar. The word 'dollar' became tārā (often written without accents as tara), and the term is still being used among native Tahitian and local Chinese traders as an unofficial money unit, valued 5 FCFP. When you would buy something in the shop costing, for example 200 FCFP, in the Tahitian language you would say: tārā e maha-ʻahuru (40 tārā).
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[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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| Current | Burundian franc · CFA franc (Central African CFA franc · West African CFA franc) · CFP franc · Comorian franc · Congolese franc · Djiboutian franc · Guinean franc · Liechtenstein frank · Rwandan franc · Swiss franc · UIC franc |
| Defunct | Algerian franc · Belgian franc · Cambodian franc · French Camerounian franc · French franc · Katangan franc · Gold franc · Luxembourgish franc · Malagasy franc · Malian franc · Monegasque franc · Moroccan franc · New Hebrides franc · Réunion franc · Rwanda and Burundi franc · Saar franc · Tunisian franc · Westphalian Frank |
| Hypothetical | US occupation franc |
