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                                                                      EXHIBIT 23
 
                         INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT
 
The Board of Directors
ChemFirst Inc.:
 
     We consent to incorporation by reference in the Registration Statements on
Form S-8 (Nos. 333-18691 and 333-18693) of our report dated February 21, 1997
relating to the consolidated balance sheets of ChemFirst Inc. and subsidiaries
as of December 31, 1996 and June 30, 1996 and 1995 and the related consolidated
statements of operations, stockholders' equity and cash flows for the six months
ended December 31, 1996 and for each of the years in the three-year period ended
June 30, 1996, which report appears in the December 31, 1996 transition report
on Form 10-K of ChemFirst Inc. Our report on the consolidated financial
statements refers to a change in the method of accounting for income taxes.
 
                                            KPMG Peat Marwick LLP
 
Jackson, Mississippi
March 17, 1997
