First Published on March 6, 2023,
During his recent Africa trip, Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed his wish to engage in a new relationship with the continent to counter the feeling that France is losing momentum.
France is not going to desert Africa at a time when the great Cold War powers (Russia, the United States), as well as powerful forces including China, India, the Emirates and Turkey, are more active than ever on this continent that is crucial for the future of the world. But how can Paris pull its weight when anti-French sentiment is growing from Bamako to Kinshasa, fueled by the colonial heritage and political misguidance, but above all by the demagoguery of military putschists who have no plans? Not to mention the onslaught of Russian propaganda? This was the main purpose of the French president’s trip, the 18in six years to the African continent. From March 1 – 4, Emmanuel Macron visited Gabon, Angola, Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
It is hard to blame Macron for not sensing the youthful shift in some African countries and the need to invent new relationships with a continent where former French colonizations have for too long been considered a reserved domain. Beyond its clumsiness, the speech he gave in 2017 to students in Ouagadougou displayed an ambition for renewal and normalization. The timid 2019 reform of the CFA franc and the policy of restituting works of art appeared millimeter-sized advances, and were quickly overshadowed by the fracas surrounding the security failure of the “Barkhane” military operation in the Sahel and the image of a France violently dismissed from Mali and then from Burkina Faso.
Heavy task
In this context, the task of countering the feeling that France is losing ground in Africa is a heavy one. From Libreville to Kinshasa, Macron has tried to do so by asserting the will to engage in a new relationship with Africa, one created with “humility” and “responsible and balanced” partnerships, particularly in the areas of environmental protection, agriculture and health.
But Macron’s vague announcement of a reorganization of military bases, on which the claimed French influence is largely based, reflects the great discrepancy between France’s ambitions and reality. So does the itinerary of the presidential trip, between visits to two figures personifying the old erring ways of “Françafrique” (Ali Bongo and Denis Sassou-Nguesso) and incursions into countries symbolizing the search for “new strategic partners” (Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo).
The refusal to clearly condemn the active support of Rwanda – a country with which Macron is pursuing an active policy of reconciliation – for the rebellion that is putting the eastern DRC through fierce fighting shows the limits of the “frankness” claimed by the French president. All the more so since he does not hesitate, at the same time, to underline the responsibilities of the Congolese leaders in the insecurity that reigns in their immense country.
It will take time and much more than speeches and small steps to convince people of the reality of the updated new approach presented by the President of the Republic. To prove to them that a policy aiming to leave the post-colonial territory is really a bearer of opportunities, of new vision and not of marginalization, and connects with a real audience. While economic, political and influence competition is exacerbating in Africa, Paris cannot remain on the sidelines. But, at this pivotal moment, it has yet to fully concretize this touted new beginning, the rebound of French policy in Africa