French President Emmanuel Macron. /Getty
Editor's note: Xin Ping is a commentator on international affairs who writes regularly for CGTN, Global Times and China Daily. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
On October 8, French President Emmanuel Macron faced direct grievances from thousands of young Africans attending the Africa-France summit in Montpellier, which was seen by many as little more than window dressing. Young representatives from various African countries, pulling no punches, questioned Macron over France's colonial heritage, political influence and military presence in Africa, evoking memories of France's century-long colonial invasion of the continent.
At its height, France's African empire expanded across most of the Sahara and Sahel region, large parts of West Africa, the Island of Madagascar and the port of Djibouti. The heyday of French colonization era came to an end when 14 sub-Saharan colonies gained independence in 1960, but French colonial heritage lingers till today.
Militarily, France now maintains some 5,100 personnel with dozens of aircraft and hundreds of armored vehicles in the Sahel region as part of "Operation Barkhane," a U.S.-backed anti-jihadist mission. In July 2021, Macron promised to wind down the controversial mission as the local military attrition can no longer sustain France's ambition. The mission, far from accomplishing its original objectives, caused great civilian casualties. Despite almost a decade of counterterrorism operations, Islamists still control vast swathes of northern and central Mali, northern and eastern Burkina Faso, and western Niger. Reports from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) indicated that in 2020 alone, an estimated 2,440 civilians were killed in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, not to mention the tragic incident last January when the French army launched air strikes at a marriage ceremony in Mali with at least 22 fatalities. Public opinion in Mali now largely views "Operation Barkhane" as unable to bring about security and as a tool of French neocolonialism, noted a researcher at the University of Legal and Political Sciences of Bamako.
A man from Sudan sits in a makeshift camp as hundreds of migrants and refugees live in extremely harsh conditions as autumn turns to winter in Paris, France, November 7, 2019 /Getty
Politically, by preaching and imposing the Western governance model on its former colonies, France only backs African leaders who show unwavering support for French interests and turns a deaf ear to African people's voices, further fueling anti-French sentiment across West Africa. Ever since the early 2000s, France's interventionist approach in the Ivory Coast, Chad, the Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, etc., though waxing and waning, has persisted. "We as Africans feel the pain of colonization every single day. What we end up with is skepticism of what exactly does France stand for," pointed out a Kenyan representative during the recent Africa-France summit, winning fierce applause from the audience.
Financially, France has long been advocating the use of the common currency, West African CFA franc, or newly named ECO, for French-speaking West African countries. The currency, pegged to the euro and approved by the French Finance Ministry, is objected by many as eliciting memories of French colonial legacy and the blood-spilt dominance in Africa.
On top of that, President Macron's public acknowledgment of France's historical responsibility during the Algerian War and the 1994 Rwandan genocide won symbolic praises from some people, but France-Africa relations are nowhere near intimacy as the colonial slate can never be wiped clean merely through political grandstanding and gesture politics. Although Macron alleged to resume France's fair share of "Africanness" during the Africa-France summit, French immigration policies towards Africans turn out to be just the opposite. Starting last month, France began drastically slashing the number of visas granted to Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians on account of their governments' refusal to help return expelled migrants. Instead of restoring France's intangible "Africanness," Macron is more concerned about his performance in handling illegal immigrants, considering immigration will be a key issue in his presidential election next year.
If France, a nation with nearly 7 million people closely linked to Africa, really wishes to "build its future" by assuming its "Africanness," it's time for it to stop being a human rights preacher and bid adieu to its neocolonialism grip on the continent. Paternalistic pseudo-cooperation can hardly win the hearts and minds of the younger generation. Macron's recognition of his country's past colonial crimes is a significant first step, but in the absence of concrete actions, no Africans, both young and old, will take France's big words without a pinch of salt.
It's high time that France clear all its colonial vestiges of "France-Afrique" and show true respect to Africans and African immigrants. Otherwise, France-Africa relations will never be amended and the specter of neocolonialism will continuously force the country to swallow the bitter pill of its own making.
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