title: Centime
text: Centime (from ) is French for "cent", and is used in English as the name of the fraction currency in several Francophone countries (including Switzerland, Algeria, Belgium, Morocco and France).
  
  In France, the usage of centime goes back to the introduction of the decimal monetary system under Napoleon. This system aimed at replacing non-decimal fractions of older coins. A five-centime coin was known as a sou, i.e. a solidus or shilling.
  
  In Francophone Canada  of a Canadian dollar is officially known as a cent (pronounced /sɛnt/) in both English and French. However, in practice, the form of cenne (pronounced /sɛn/) has completely replaced the official cent. Spoken and written use of the official form cent in Francophone Canada is exceptionally uncommon.
  In the Canadian French vernacular sou, sou noir ( means "black" in French), cenne, and cenne noire are all widely known, used, and accepted monikers when referring to either  of a Canadian dollar or the 1¢ coin (colloquially known as a "penny" in North American English).
  
  Subdivision of euro: cent or centime?
  In the European community, cent is the official name for one hundredth of a euro. However, in French-speaking countries, the word centime is the preferred term. The Superior Council of the French language of Belgium recommended in 2001 the use of centime, since cent is also the French word for "hundred". An analogous decision was published in the Journal officiel in France (2 December 1997).
  
  In Morocco, dirhams are divided into 100 centimes and one may find prices in the country quoted in centimes rather than in dirhams. Sometimes centimes are known as francs or, in former Spanish areas, pesetas.
  
  Usage
  A centime is one-hundredth of the following basic monetary units:
  
  Current
  
   Algerian dinar
   Burundian franc
   CFP franc
   CFA franc
   Comorian franc
   Congolese franc
   Djiboutian franc
   Ethiopian birr (as santim)
   Guinean franc
   Haitian gourde
   Moroccan dirham
   Rwandan franc
   Swiss franc (by French and English speakers only; Italian speakers use centesimo. See Rappen)
  
  Obsolete
  
   Algerian franc
   Belgian franc (Dutch: )
   Cambodian franc
   French Camerounian franc
   French Guianan franc
   French franc
   Guadeloupe franc
   Katangese franc
   Latvian lats (Latvian: santīms)
   Luxembourgish franc
   Malagasy franc
   Malian franc
   Martinique franc
   Monegasque franc
   Moroccan franc
   New Hebrides franc
   Réunion franc
   Spanish Peseta
   Tunisian franc
   Westphalian frank
  
  References
  
  Marianne (personification)