New Delhi: Gold prices are reaching new highs every day and central banks of several countries are heavily increasing their gold reserves. Amid this gold rush there is one country whose central bank holds 2437 tonnes of gold but does not have a single gold mine—France. This European nation has the fourth-largest gold reserves in the world after the United States Germany and Italy. However since France has no gold mines it produces no gold of its own. So where did France acquire such a massive gold reserve? During the colonial era France occupied several African nations including Algeria Tunisia Morocco Senegal Mali Burkina Faso Benin Guinea Ivory Coast and Niger. The French colonial administration extracted significant quantities of gold and various resources from these countries. Even after achieving independence many of these nations continued to maintain economic ties with France. This ongoing relationship is largely due to an agreement that requires the central banks of these former French colonies to hold a portion of their reserves in France. Top 10 Countries In the top 10 countries list China is on the top with a gold production 378.2 tonnes in 2023. Russia is on the second position with 321.8 tones. In 2023 gold production in Australia was 293.8 tonnes Canada 191.9 tonnes America 166.7 tonnes Ghana 135.1 tonnes Indonesia 132.5 tonnes Peru 128.8 tonnes Mexico 12.6 tonnes and Uzbekistan produced 119.6 tonnes.