President Macron prophecy about the end of Francafrique is being fulfilled

Remember how, earlier this year, when French President Emmanuel Macron went on a four-nation tour of Africa to mend frayed ties, one of the most stunning remarks he made was that “the age of Francafrique is over?” And now, just a few months later, his prophecies are coming true, perhaps not in the way he imagined, but the end of Francafrique–the name used to designate France’s prolonged colonial presence in Africa–is here.

The term Francafrique was first coined in 1955 by the first president of Ivory Coast, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, to describe Afica’s close ties with France. Unlike other colonial powers who reduced their presence in Africa after independence, France continued to maintain their presence in the continent through political, economic and security connections in order to serve their interest. In fact, the actions of France over the years point towards the fact that they saw their former colonies as their backyard.

The colonial pact signed between France and francophone Africa ensured France continued relations with these nations. Even though some French Presidents have tried to change their policy towards Africa from being controlling, old habits die hard especially when it comes to protecting French interest which revolves around energy and raw materials that can only be found and gotten with ease from Africa. They do this by influencing African internal affairs and ensuring that African leaders who are corrupt but will serve their interests will remain in power. For example, during the 2009 presidential election in Gabon, France allowed Ali Ben Bongo to defraud the electorate hence ensuring that he won the election, giving the same support that they gave to his oil-wealth plundering, anti-democratic father Omar.

This is just one example of how France influenced corrupt African leaders. In exchange for military support against coup attempts and huge kickbacks, these African leaders offered French firms access to critical resources such as diamonds, ores, uranium, gas, and oil. As a result, France has a strong presence on the continent, with 1,100 firms, almost 2,100 subsidiaries, and the third-largest investment portfolio behind the United Kingdom and the United States.

Also in the guise of fighting terrorism, France built a considerable military presence in Africa most especially in the Sahel region. But take for instance the so-called Operation Barkhane, a French led military counter-terrorism campaign that began in 2013 in Mali. For nine years France with all its military prowess and high-grade equipment could not end the insurgency problem yet they continued to stay and keep the base in Mali. Doesn’t this tell that their military presence could just be another way for France to protect its interest in the Sahel region?

The fact is France’s continued presence and influence in Francophone countries has not done much to address the problems of the people including violence, poverty, lack of economic opportunities, poor education systems and poor infrastructure. Ironically, these former French

colonies are the poorest countries even by African standards yet they are the richest in terms of natural resources.

So, should it come as a surprise to France that anti-french sentiments have spread so wide and fast in recent times all over Africa?

For the past few years, anti-french sentiments have been building and it has grown so much that a wave of coup began to spread across Africa. First, it was Mali in 2020 when Assimi Goita the current president of the country took power. Of course, France and the region’s bloc condemned the coup yet the military junta refused to budge. The whole situation ended with Mali ending the military and defense agreement they had with France and ordering all France troops to leave the country. It didn’t end there, the French ambassador to Mali was ordered to leave, French media was suspended, and the French language is no longer the official language in Mali.

The coup in Mali seemed to become a standard for all the other coups that followed. In Burkina Faso, the military junta also sent the French packing. Like Mali, Ibrahim Traore, president of Burkina Faso, ended the military agreement that allowed French troops to fight terrorists on its territory and declared that the country would defend itself. In Niger, one of the coups that happened this year, 2023, the trend is still the same. The military took over and ousted the former President, Mohammed Bazoom who was a very known French ally. Just like in Mali and Burkina Faso, the military junta has refused to budge despite sanctions and threats of war. He has also ordered the departure of the French ambassador out of Niger.

While the world was still watching the situation in Niger, another coup happened in Gabon, yet another former colony of France and a country that has been ruled by a corrupt family dynasty and a close ally of France for the last 55 years. The military took over just after Gabon’s president Ali Bongo Ondimba was re-elected. Bongo and his Father had ruled the country for 55 years, amassing vast wealth through corruption.

As usual, France has not hesitated to make their displeasure known. According to the French government spokesman Olivier Veran, “France condemns the military coup that is underway in Gabon and is closely monitoring developments in the country, and France reaffirms its wish that the outcome of the election, once known, be respected,” Regardless of what they say, the coup has happened and would probably follow the same pattern as the previous ones.

In all these coups that have occurred, the people of each of these nations have shown considerable excitement. In Mali and Burkina Faso for instance, after the coup occurred, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets to express their anti-french sentiments. They carried placards with the words “Down with France” written on it. The people of Burkina Faso even went further to destroy the French embassy.

All of these events show that Africans are tired of France’s continuous meddling in the continent and that they would no longer accept the previous status of things whereby France treats the continents as its personal reserve of resources. Interestingly Africans are not the only ones aware of this fact. Following the movement of coups that have sparked across the continent, a group of senators, joined by 94 MPs from various political parties, addressed an open letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, emphasizing France’s diplomatic failures in Africa and urging for a review of the country’s policies on the continent.

According to them, after the collapse of Operation Barkhane, a wave of anti-french sentiments swept through a lot of West African countries with their leaders maintaining power by uniting their populations against the former colonial power.” They also referred to the Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who according to them blows hot and cold because sometimes he would speak of peace with France but other times he regarded France as the Devil responsible for all evils.

While emphasising that they are not nostalgic for colonial times and “do not dream of a French West Africa or a French Equatorial Africa,” the parliamentarians expressed their dissatisfaction with the evolution of French policy in Africa in the military, development cooperation, and culture.
The senators then emphasised that it is time to reconsider France’s perspective of Africa and its connections with the continent, stressing that they want the country to retain strong and cordial links with Africa in a variety of sectors of common interest.

Whether or not President Macron would heed their voice remains to be seen nevertheless Francophone Africa is on a roll that cannot be stopped. These countries have realized that they can stand up and fight against neocolonialism and imperialism. The End of Francafrique is here and nothing can stop it.

Do you think another coup is likely to occur in another Francophone country? Would these military juntas be able to cause a change in their nation? Can Francophone Africa completely break free from their former colonial master? Do leave your comments down below and do not forget to like share and subscribe if you have not done so already.