French Community

French Community Communauté française (French)
1958–1995 (De facto: 1958–1960)
Flag Emblem
Motto: "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" Liberty, equality, fraternity
Anthem: "La Marseillaise"
The French Community in 1959
Capital	Paris
Common languages	French
Membership	Central African Republic Chad Republic of the Congo Dahomey Gabon France Ivory Coast Malagasy Republic Mauritania Niger Senegal Mali Republic of Upper Volta
Historical era	Cold War
• Fifth Republic	4 October 1958
• Abolished	4 August 1995
Area
1959	11,000,000 km2 (4,200,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1959	150,000,000
Currency	French franc CFA franc CFP franc
Preceded by Succeeded by French Union French colonial empire France

The French Community (French: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial empire in 1946. While the Community remained formally in existence until 1995, when the French Parliament officially abolished it, it had effectively ceased to exist and function by the end of 1960, by which time all the African members had declared their independence and left it.

The Community had a short lifespan because, while the African members did not refuse it, they refrained from real involvement. Under the appearance of equality, the constitution of the Community restricted the sovereignty of the twelve African states, and reaffirmed the preeminence of France, by placing in the domaine commun (exercised in common) critical functions such as foreign affairs, defence, the currency, economic policies and control of raw materials.^[1]