The end of French colonization of fourteen African countries was not a point of disengagement between France and its independent colonies.
Rather, France was keen to maintain good relations with them in what was known as “the Francophone,” a French idea that aims to strengthen ties with all French-speaking countries. There are 25 African countries which have a large number of French speakers, representing nearly half of the countries on the continent.
This French connection is not limited to its linguistic, educational and cultural dimensions only, but the economic dimension was present in the French endeavor to strengthen its presence in the post-independence phase in Africa in order to preserve its interests.
In February 1965, it established an economic organization based in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott, with 13 members including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Dahomey, Togo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Niger, Senegal, Rwanda.
This paved the way for the consolidation of the French economic presence to reach today a total of 1100 major companies, 2100 small companies and the third largest investment portfolio after Britain and the United States.
In addition to the economic aspects, France also paid attention to the military dimension, which was embodied in the establishment of several military bases on some continents, as is the case in Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Chad, Djibouti, and Central Africa.
The French presence in the African continent was not limited to the above, but France also took many steps to maintain this presence and work to strengthen it, including supporting national development programs in many countries of the continent, supporting economic blocs such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as well as starting operations to return antiquities looted during the colonial period to their countries of origin. France also made a direct contribution to efforts to combat terrorism through its military presence.
The military is part of the operations to combat armed terrorist organizations in addition to French keenness for continuous communication with the ruling elites in the countries of the continent by holding summit meetings on an ongoing basis, all with the aim of correcting their image among the African peoples and trying to win their support.
The end of French colonization of fourteen African countries was not a point of disengagement between France and its independent colonies.
Rather, France was keen to maintain good relations with them in what was known as “the Francophone,” a French idea that aims to strengthen ties with all French-speaking countries. There are 25 African countries which have a large number of French speakers, representing nearly half of the countries on the continent.
This French connection is not limited to its linguistic, educational and cultural dimensions only, but the economic dimension was present in the French endeavor to strengthen its presence in the post-independence phase in Africa in order to preserve its interests.
In February 1965, it established an economic organization based in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott, with 13 members including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Dahomey, Togo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Niger, Senegal, Rwanda.
This paved the way for the consolidation of the French economic presence to reach today a total of 1100 major companies, 2100 small companies and the third largest investment portfolio after Britain and the United States.
In addition to the economic aspects, France also paid attention to the military dimension, which was embodied in the establishment of several military bases on some continents, as is the case in Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Chad, Djibouti, and Central Africa.
The French presence in the African continent was not limited to the above, but France also took many steps to maintain this presence and work to strengthen it, including supporting national development programs in many countries of the continent, supporting economic blocs such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as well as starting operations to return antiquities looted during the colonial period to their countries of origin. France also made a direct contribution to efforts to combat terrorism through its military presence.
The military is part of the operations to combat armed terrorist organizations in addition to French keenness for continuous communication with the ruling elites in the countries of the continent by holding summit meetings on an ongoing basis, all with the aim of correcting their image among the African peoples and trying to win their support.
But despite all these initiatives that carry a positive message from France towards the countries of the continent and its issues, the current reality confirms that France is no longer welcomed at all levels, governmental and popular, which raises questions about its continued viability.
Is this due to mistakes committed by France for which it is paying the price today? Where do such errors lie if they exist? Or is there a lack of welcome due to the presence of other competitors who were able to offer alternatives to the French role without bringing with them a colonial heritage that the peoples of the continent do not forget? Or is it due to the self-awakening of the peoples of the continent that rejects any interventions by international parties trying to exploit their capabilities and wealth without having any return for their peoples?
In the midst of answering these questions, this report reviews two fundamental matters as follows:
First, the French failure and its internal and external factors
The French failure in the African continent was not born today, but rather dates back to the beginning of the nineties of the last century with the end of the Cold War, and the rearrangement of the French situation in many African countries in the light of developments which can be referred to a number of factors and reasons which may be summarized in three groups as follows:
The first is factors related to French internal affairs and its preoccupation with its own economic crises, political conflicts and security problems, which prompted France to reposition its presence within the countries of the continent by focusing on the qualitative aspect rather than the quantitative aspect (especially in the military field).
The French policy towards the continent was characterized by reliance on a new vision related to the rejection of complete withdrawal, whether gradual or immediate. But this vision relied on the importance of revitalizing its presence and influence not only within its traditional areas of influence, but also in searching for new areas of influence that would not represent a burden so much as it would contribute to strengthening its role, expanding the areas of its interests and deepening its relations.
However, despite the relevance of this vision, which is commensurate with the nature of the challenges that France suffers from, France wanted to manage its military presence in the continent through the idea of dividing it into two courses of action.
The first is operating from within African lands. The second is operating from within the French borders, specifically in the southwest of the country.
However, France failed to implement this policy in a way that guaranteed it a continuous and strong presence like the failure of its role in the 1992 Algerian crisis against terrorist organizations as well as its failure in the Democratic Republic of Congo crisis where French support failed to maintain former president Mobutu Sese Seko.
In the Rwanda and Burundi crises, this failure prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to present an apology to Rwanda in 2021, and to publicly acknowledge France's failure to fulfill its responsibilities over the 1994 genocide.
Second is factors related to the transformations that the countries of the African continent have undergone, whether these factors are related to their internal conditions or related to their interaction with the French side.
African countries concurrently experienced economic and social crises as well as internal political and military conflicts. This was due to the failure of African countries to improve the conditions of their societies. Thus, the internal discourse in the countries linked to France increasingly criticized the French role in support of failed governments that are unable to manage the country’s affairs and achieve the desired development.
In a clearer sense, France got the lion's share of the criticism suggesting that it held a large part of the responsibility for the failure of development projects in these countries, which made the governments that came after conflicts or coups keen to put some space between them and their relationship with France for fear that the arrows of criticism would extend to them if they also failed to improve the living conditions of citizens.
This created an area of separation between the leaders and peoples of these countries on the one hand and the French state on the other. In addition, some attribute this to the supercilious French discourse in its dealings with the peoples of the African continent, similar to what happened after the killing of 13 French soldiers in a helicopter crash in Mali in November 2019.
This attitude was shown when French President Emmanuel Macron called on the leaders of West African countries to come immediately to France to hold an emergency summit, in a move that some saw as a hint of what could be described as neo-colonial arrogance, especially since both Mali and Niger had just incurred heavy military losses.
President Macron at the time had to make a quick move to correct that image. So, he went to the capital of Niger to offer condolences for the dead soldiers and postponed the summit he had called for until January 2020.
In fact, the African memory still retains the statements made by some French presidents, for example, former President Nicolas Sarkozy during his presidential term in 2007 said that the African man has not yet entered history as he should have, a statement that lacked a lot of tact.
Third is factors related to the international and regional players competing with the French role. France faces many challenges from international and regional actors seeking to extend their hegemony and assert their presence on the African continent, especially in the areas of former French colonialism where there is an increasing sense of anti-French emotion.
This is despite France's keenness to manage the issue of its relations with these countries in terms of fighting terrorism in coordination with the United States. However, the reality confirms the French desire to work alone, away from the American presence, as evidenced by what happened in July 2017 when the French presented a plan to the United Nations to establish a regional African security force in the Sahel.
It consisted of five thousand fighters to form the forces of the group of Sahel states and was known as G5 Sahel Force. The French request at the time was surprising to the United States, which expected that Paris would consult it on the plan, which did not happen despite the French dependence primarily on American logistical and intelligence support.
The matter was not limited to American competition for the French presence, but Turkey had a growing endeavor in this regard, a policy that enjoyed the tacit approval of the United States as an important tool not only against France, but also against both Russia and China.
Ankara has succeeded in exporting a negative image of the French role in assisting African peoples, especially countries with an Islamic background in West Africa (the place of French influence).
In addition to Turkish aid, which was estimated at about five million dollars for counter-terrorism efforts made by the bloc of five coastal countries, Turkey signed military agreements with some African countries such as Niger, thus complementing its presence in western Libya.
Along with this presence, which may carry the possibility of making understandings between its three parties (France, the United States and Turkey), on the other side of the shore comes a rival presence for this trio that includes Russia, China and Iran.
The Russian military and security presence in West Africa through Moscow’s agreements to strengthen cooperation in the field of military and security affairs complements the Chinese economic presence on the one hand and the Iranian religious presence on the other hand.
This makes the West African region a pivotal future conflict station between two alignments, each side trying to become the strongest player in the future of the upper half of the African continent, which experts consider the next and most important place for the game of global political influence.
Secondly is the French failure - is it the end of its role or the beginning of correction?
What is happening today in the African continent is an escalation of a trend rejecting the continuation of French interference in the affairs of the continent.
This reached the level of the transitional government in Mali expelling the French ambassador last month for the first time in the history of the country since its independence from the French occupation.
This followed the French position towards what happened in Mali in May 2021, which France considered to be a rejected military coup.
This escalation was not the result of the moment or a quick reaction on the part of the Malian government in rejection of the current French position.
The countries of the continent and their issues on the one hand, and the increase in the volume of international and regional competition to gain a foothold for Africa’s many and varied capabilities and wealth on the other hand, made some consider that these events are the beginning of the end of the French role in the African continent.
It also shows that there is an opportunity for international and regional parties to rearrange their relations with countries that are breaking their relations with France, similar to what is happening today in Mali, where its rapprochement with Russia and China is increasing in the face of French rejection.
But the matter is not as simple as some put it, because the disengagement between France and its old colonies faces a depth of cultural, educational and linguistic understandings between these countries and France.
Over the decades, even before independence, France succeeded in deepening its involvement and expanding the areas of its intertwining with African societies in general along with their political and cultural elite.
The artistic and media fields in particular ensure their continuity of existence and this is also reinforced by the fact that the competing parties to the French presence do not agree on one goal, but rather their individual interests reflect a priority in their policies towards the countries of the continent.
It is true that they all agree on the importance of curtailing the French role and providing an alternative to it, but it is also true that this curtailment requires two things.
First is the ability of the opposing parties to compete with the French in light of their dominance over the African popular mind, and this will require more than a few years.
The second is the consensus of the opposing parties and their interests, which cannot be achieved in light of their divergent positions, conflicting interests and overlapping relations. This makes it difficult for these parties to have a great opportunity to dislodge France from its position in the African continent.
In conclusion, the French presence faces many challenges and many difficulties in individually seizing the capabilities and wealth of the countries of the African continent, similar to what was happening previously.
This is what France understands today and is now trying to rearrange its policies and its approach towards the countries of the African continent in order to preserve what it has achieved from a solid presence and in an effort to protect this presence in the coming days.
Africa has become one of the most important arenas of competition between many international and regional powers due to its geopolitical, economic and human capabilities.
This requires the countries on the continent to wake up to the present moment with its growing challenges through the presence of an African elite that puts the interests of their countries in the foreground.
This comes with the aim of not repeating history and preventing the fall of these countries again into the clutches of colonialism with its new tools.
But despite all these initiatives that carry a positive message from France towards the countries of the continent and its issues, the current reality confirms that France is no longer welcomed at all levels, governmental and popular, which raises questions about its continued viability.
Is this due to mistakes committed by France for which it is paying the price today? Where do such errors lie if they exist? Or is there a lack of welcome due to the presence of other competitors who were able to offer alternatives to the French role without bringing with them a colonial heritage that the peoples of the continent do not forget? Or is it due to the self-awakening of the peoples of the continent that rejects any interventions by international parties trying to exploit their capabilities and wealth without having any return for their peoples?
In the midst of answering these questions, this report reviews two fundamental matters as follows:
First, the French failure and its internal and external factors:
The French failure in the African continent was not born today, but rather dates back to the beginning of the nineties of the last century with the end of the Cold War, and the rearrangement of the French situation in many African countries in the light of developments which can be referred to a number of factors and reasons which may be summarized in three groups as follows:
The first is factors related to French internal affairs and its preoccupation with its own economic crises, political conflicts and security problems, which prompted France to reposition its presence within the countries of the continent by focusing on the qualitative aspect rather than the quantitative aspect (especially in the military field).
The French policy towards the continent was characterized by reliance on a new vision related to the rejection of complete withdrawal, whether gradual or immediate. But this vision relied on the importance of revitalizing its presence and influence not only within its traditional areas of influence, but also in searching for new areas of influence that would not represent a burden so much as it would contribute to strengthening its role, expanding the areas of its interests and deepening its relations.
However, despite the relevance of this vision, which is commensurate with the nature of the challenges that France suffers from, France wanted to manage its military presence in the continent through the idea of dividing it into two courses of action.
The first is operating from within African lands. The second is operating from within the French borders, specifically in the southwest of the country.
However, France failed to implement this policy in a way that guaranteed it a continuous and strong presence like the failure of its role in the 1992 Algerian crisis against terrorist organizations as well as its failure in the Democratic Republic of Congo crisis where French support failed to maintain former president Mobutu Sese Seko.
In the Rwanda and Burundi crises, this failure prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to present an apology to Rwanda in 2021, and to publicly acknowledge France's failure to fulfill its responsibilities over the 1994 genocide.
Second is factors related to the transformations that the countries of the African continent have undergone, whether these factors are related to their internal conditions or related to their interaction with the French side.
African countries concurrently experienced economic and social crises as well as internal political and military conflicts. This was due to the failure of African countries to improve the conditions of their societies. Thus, the internal discourse in the countries linked to France increasingly criticized the French role in support of failed governments that are unable to manage the country’s affairs and achieve the desired development.
In a clearer sense, France got the lion's share of the criticism suggesting that it held a large part of the responsibility for the failure of development projects in these countries, which made the governments that came after conflicts or coups keen to put some space between them and their relationship with France for fear that the arrows of criticism would extend to them if they also failed to improve the living conditions of citizens.
This created an area of separation between the leaders and peoples of these countries on the one hand and the French state on the other. In addition, some attribute this to the supercilious French discourse in its dealings with the peoples of the African continent, similar to what happened after the killing of 13 French soldiers in a helicopter crash in Mali in November 2019.
This attitude was shown when French President Emmanuel Macron called on the leaders of West African countries to come immediately to France to hold an emergency summit, in a move that some saw as a hint of what could be described as neo-colonial arrogance, especially since both Mali and Niger had just incurred heavy military losses.
President Macron at the time had to make a quick move to correct that image. So, he went to the capital of Niger to offer condolences for the dead soldiers and postponed the summit he had called for until January 2020.
In fact, the African memory still retains the statements made by some French presidents, for example, former President Nicolas Sarkozy during his presidential term in 2007 said that the African man has not yet entered history as he should have, a statement that lacked a lot of tact.
Third is factors related to the international and regional players competing with the French role. France faces many challenges from international and regional actors seeking to extend their hegemony and assert their presence on the African continent, especially in the areas of former French colonialism where there is an increasing sense of anti-French emotion.
This is despite France's keenness to manage the issue of its relations with these countries in terms of fighting terrorism in coordination with the United States. However, the reality confirms the French desire to work alone, away from the American presence, as evidenced by what happened in July 2017 when the French presented a plan to the United Nations to establish a regional African security force in the Sahel.
It consisted of five thousand fighters to form the forces of the group of Sahel states and was known as G5 Sahel Force. The French request at the time was surprising to the United States, which expected that Paris would consult it on the plan, which did not happen despite the French dependence primarily on American logistical and intelligence support.
The matter was not limited to American competition for the French presence, but Turkey had a growing endeavor in this regard, a policy that enjoyed the tacit approval of the United States as an important tool not only against France, but also against both Russia and China.
Ankara has succeeded in exporting a negative image of the French role in assisting African peoples, especially countries with an Islamic background in West Africa (the place of French influence).
In addition to Turkish aid, which was estimated at about five million dollars for counter-terrorism efforts made by the bloc of five coastal countries, Turkey signed military agreements with some African countries such as Niger, thus complementing its presence in western Libya.
Along with this presence, which may carry the possibility of making understandings between its three parties (France, the United States and Turkey), on the other side of the shore comes a rival presence for this trio that includes Russia, China and Iran.
The Russian military and security presence in West Africa through Moscow’s agreements to strengthen cooperation in the field of military and security affairs complements the Chinese economic presence on the one hand and the Iranian religious presence on the other hand.
This makes the West African region a pivotal future conflict station between two alignments, each side trying to become the strongest player in the future of the upper half of the African continent, which experts consider the next and most important place for the game of global political influence.
Secondly is the French failure - is it the end of its role or the beginning of correction?
What is happening today in the African continent is an escalation of a trend rejecting the continuation of French interference in the affairs of the continent.
This reached the level of the transitional government in Mali expelling the French ambassador last month for the first time in the history of the country since its independence from the French occupation.
This followed the French position towards what happened in Mali in May 2021, which France considered to be a rejected military coup.
This escalation was not the result of the moment or a quick reaction on the part of the Malian government in rejection of the current French position.
The countries of the continent and their issues on the one hand, and the increase in the volume of international and regional competition to gain a foothold for Africa’s many and varied capabilities and wealth on the other hand, made some consider that these events are the beginning of the end of the French role in the African continent.
It also shows that there is an opportunity for international and regional parties to rearrange their relations with countries that are breaking their relations with France, similar to what is happening today in Mali, where its rapprochement with Russia and China is increasing in the face of French rejection.
But the matter is not as simple as some put it, because the disengagement between France and its old colonies faces a depth of cultural, educational and linguistic understandings between these countries and France.
Over the decades, even before independence, France succeeded in deepening its involvement and expanding the areas of its intertwining with African societies in general along with their political and cultural elite.
The artistic and media fields in particular ensure their continuity of existence and this is also reinforced by the fact that the competing parties to the French presence do not agree on one goal, but rather their individual interests reflect a priority in their policies towards the countries of the continent.
It is true that they all agree on the importance of curtailing the French role and providing an alternative to it, but it is also true that this curtailment requires two things.
First is the ability of the opposing parties to compete with the French in light of their dominance over the African popular mind, and this will require more than a few years.
The second is the consensus of the opposing parties and their interests, which cannot be achieved in light of their divergent positions, conflicting interests and overlapping relations. This makes it difficult for these parties to have a great opportunity to dislodge France from its position in the African continent.
In conclusion, the French presence faces many challenges and many difficulties in individually seizing the capabilities and wealth of the countries of the African continent, similar to what was happening previously.
This is what France understands today and is now trying to rearrange its policies and its approach towards the countries of the African continent in order to preserve what it has achieved from a solid presence and in an effort to protect this presence in the coming days.
Africa has become one of the most important arenas of competition between many international and regional powers due to its geopolitical, economic and human capabilities.
This requires the countries on the continent to wake up to the present moment with its growing challenges through the presence of an African elite that puts the interests of their countries in the foreground.
This comes with the aim of not repeating history and preventing the fall of these countries again into the clutches of colonialism with its new tools.
