<<Is that what happened to the French who have been buying oil with Dollars for five decades?
I dont expect you are right.>>
Depends on what the French balance of trade was. If they had a positive balance, it was good for them overall to keep the franc low. If they had a negative balance of trade (and I don't think they did) then having to overpay for dollars would definitely have hurt them overall. France's economic strength over the U.S. is increasing over time. Obviously they were worse off before and better off now. And just as obviously, their currency has been gaining over the American dollar over that same period of time.
