In my quest to understand this famous saying, I learned about the French CFA system. France is the only Western country that formally controls the currency of other countries. The 15 African countries that use the CFA are among the poorest in Africa

If a merchant in one of the CFA countries were to sell goods to a foreign customer, payments for such goods are first converted into euros and deposited to the French treasury before being deposited to one of the two African central banks established to accommodate the CFA. From there, the local business receives payment.