Opération Persil

Opération Persil was a 1960 covert operation by the French government aimed at destabilising the post-independence government of Guinea due to Guinean president Ahmed Sékou Touré's rejection of the CFA franc and his successful campaign for Guinean independence.

In September 1958, a constitutional referendum was held in Guinea, then still a French colony, which, if passed, French colonies would become part of the new French Community; 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 Ahmed Sékou Touré.

Touré initially attempted to maintain relations with France, stating a desire to remain in the franc zone (CFA franc). However, French colonists in Guinea withdrew from the country quickly. The Washington Post 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."^[1] The French government also stopped paying the pensions of Guinean soldiers who had fought for France,^[2] and did not support Guinea's accession to the United Nations.^[3]

In early 1960, the Guinean government created its own central bank and launched an independent currency, the Guinean Franc. In response, Jacques Foccart, Charles de Gaulle's chief adviser for African matters and co-founder of the Service d'Action Civique militia, drew up covert plans to destabilise Touré's government. The plan was named Opération Persil, after the popular detergent brand Persil.^[4]

The operation was provided for the Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage (SDECE), based in Senegal, to create large quantities of forged Guinean francs to flood the country with and bring about hyperinflation and economic collapse, similar to the Nazi Operation Bernhard. The French-produced banknotes are more resistant to the humid Guinean climate than the official banknotes produced in Czechoslovakia.^[5]

The SDECE was also to arm opposition figures in Guinea and organise them into paramilitaries that would lead to civil war.^[6] 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, launched an official investigation into the affair and sent an official complaint to the French government.^[7] The French government later abandoned the operation.^[8]