French President Emmanuel Macron begins a four-nation tour of Africa today amid rising anti-French sentiment that saw French troops recently leave Mali and Burkina Faso. Macron will visit Gabon, Angola, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo amid a growing regional opposition to French involvement and support for closer ties with Russia.
Days before his departure, Macron announced France would be taking on a more deferential relationship with Africa that would require France to assume a “profound humility” in its dealings with the continent. As part of the new strategy, French military bases in Africa will transform into military academies while others will eventually be co-run with African partners.
Two of the countries Macron plans to visit — Gabon and the Republic of Congo — are former French colonies.
“For a long time France has been the object of criticism and rejection because its position has always been one of dominance,” said Mahamoudou Savadogo, a security expert with Granada Consulting in Burkina Faso. “But there is a new opportunity to be had. There are youth who have never known colonization and there’s a new paradigm that France must consider in order to improve their relationship with other states.”
France’s military withdrawal from Africa will allow its former colonies to finally assume full statehood, he added.
Source: Voice of America