The strange adventure of the Cambodian currency
On the post office square, a beautiful Art Deco building now houses the restaurant Van, an insurance company and the offices of the AFD (French Development Agency). An inquiring mind will not fail to notice on the gates the presence of little medallions with the initials CBI, which refer to the Bank of Indochina. This reminds us that among the various changes instituted by the French protectorate regime (1863- 1953) was the creation of the first currency in Cambodia : the piastre. Jean Daniel Gardère provides a brilliant account of this in his book about currency and national sovereignty. According to him, what is essential to understand in Cambodia is the impressive number of missed appointments between national sovereignty and one of its essential attributes: currency. …
