1 Franc

Madagascar remained under French administration throughout this issue's production run, governed as an Overseas Territory following the reorganization of the French Union under the 1946 constitution. That political restructuring came just two years after the catastrophic 1947 Malagasy Uprising, in which French suppression left tens of thousands dead and the island's relationship with Paris permanently altered. Aluminum coinage of this type was a postwar practicality — nickel and copper-nickel were scarce across French colonial minting programs, and lightweight aluminum filled the gap cheaply.

Struck at the Paris Mint, pieces from this series often show the cornucopia and torch privy marks of that facility.