Opération Persil was a 1960

covert operation A covert operation or undercover operation is a military or police operation involving a covert agent or troops acting under an assumed cover to conceal the identity of the party responsible. US law Under US law, the Central Intelligence A ...

by the French government aimed at destabilising the post-independence government of

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

due to Guinean president

Ahmed Sékou Touré Ahmed Sékou Touré (var. Sheku Turay or Ture; N'Ko: ; 9 January 1922 – 26 March 1984) was a Guinean political leader and African statesman who was the first president of Guinea from 1958 until his death in 1984. Touré was among the primary ...

's rejection of the

CFA franc CFA franc (, ) is the name of two currencies used by 210 million people (as of 2023) in fourteen African countries: the West African CFA franc (where "CFA" stands for , i.e. "African Financial Community" in English), used in eight West African c ...

and his successful campaign for Guinean independence.

Background

In September 1958, a constitutional referendum was held in Guinea, then still a

French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...

, which, if passed, French colonies would become part of the new

French Community The French Community () 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 em ...

; if rejected, the territory would be granted independence. During the referendum campaign, French President Charles de Gaulle visited Guinea. Guinea was one of only two colonies where the major political party campaigned for a "no" vote. The country became the only one to reject the offer and opt for immediate independence. On 2 October 1958, Guinea became an independent country under president

. Touré initially attempted to maintain relations with France, stating a desire to remain in the

franc zone CFA franc (, ) is the name of two currencies used by 210 million people (as of 2023) in fourteen African countries: the West African CFA franc (where "CFA" stands for , i.e. "African Financial Community" in English), used in eight West African co ...

(CFA franc). However, French colonists in Guinea withdrew from the country quickly. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported that "as a warning to other French-speaking territories, the French pulled out of Guinea over a two-month period, taking everything they could with them. They unscrewed light bulbs, removed plans for sewage pipelines in Conakry, the capital, and even burned medicines rather than leave them for the Guineans." The French government also stopped paying the pensions of Guinean soldiers who had fought for France, and did not support Guinea's accession to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Opération Persil

In early 1960, the Guinean government created its own central bank and launched an independent currency, the Guinean Franc. In response,

Jacques Foccart Jacques Foccart (31 August 1913 – 19 March 1997) was a French businessman and politician, best known as a chief adviser to French presidents on African affairs. He also co-founded in 1959 with Charles Pasqua the Gaullist Service d'Action Civiq ...

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

's chief adviser for African matters and co-founder of the

Service d'Action Civique The SAC (; or ''Civic Action Service''), officially created in January 1960, was a Gaullist militia founded by Jacques Foccart, Charles de Gaulle's chief adviser for African matters, and , a former Resistant and official director of the group. ...

militia, drew up covert plans to destabilise Touré's government. The plan was named Opération Persil, after the popular detergent brand

Persil Persil (, ) is a German brand of laundry detergent manufactured and marketed by Henkel around the world except in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Latin America (except Mexico), China, Australia and New Zealand, where it is manufactured an ...

. The operation was provided for the

Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or ...

(SDECE), based in Senegal, to create large quantities of forged Guinean francs to flood the country with and bring about

hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...

and

economic collapse Economic collapse, also called economic meltdown, is any of a broad range of poor economic conditions, ranging from a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment (such as the Great Depression of the 1930s), t ...

, similar to the Nazi

Operation Bernhard Operation Bernhard was an exercise by Nazi Germany to forge British Banknotes of the pound sterling, bank notes. The initial plan was to drop the notes over Britain to bring about a economic collapse, collapse of the Economy of the United Kingdom ...

. The French-produced banknotes are more resistant to the humid Guinean climate than the official banknotes produced in Czechoslovakia. The SDECE was also to arm opposition figures in Guinea and organise them into paramilitaries that would lead to civil war. However, the operation suffered a number of leaks, and soon, the Guinean was issuing a number of official complaints. On 10 May 1960, the Senegalese police seized a large weapons shipment headed for Guinea—a weapons shipment that had been organised by the French government under Opération Persil. The Senegalese government, headed by Prime Minister

Mamadou Dia Mamadou Dia (18 July 1910 – 25 January 2009) was a Senegalese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957 until 1962, when he was forced to resign and was subsequently imprisoned amidst allegations that he was p ...

, launched an official investigation into the affair and sent an official complaint to the French government. The French government later abandoned the operation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Persil 1960 1960 in Guinea 1960 in France French colonisation in Africa France–Guinea relations Foreign policy of the Charles de Gaulle administration (1959–1969) 1960 in the French colonial empire French involvement in regime change 1960s coups d'état and coup attempts International incidents French military scandals Conflicts in 1960 Military history of Guinea Economic history of Guinea Covert operations French intelligence operations 20th-century military history of France 1960 in economic history Economic warfare Money forgery