This paper assesses the role of political factors as determinants of the external debt level of African countries in the Franc Zone1  over the period 1985-2013. Based on a logit in panel, our results show that the more a country is politically stable, the lower the external debt compared to the gross domestic product. Political stability multiplies 1.18% the chances of being in the sustainable zone of external indebtedness. Thus, countries with good political institutions experience less severe external debt effects than countries with poor political institutions.