France Attempts to Reassert Its Position in West Africa
President Emmanuel Macron giving his speech on his plans for African relations at the Elysée Palace in Paris on February 27. Photo: Stefano Rellandini/ Le Monde.
President Macron of France embarked on a four-country tour in West Africa last week, with the aim of strengthening economic ties and initiating de-escalation of French military operations in the region.
Visiting Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, and Angola, Macron stressed substantial economic opportunities the Sub-Saharan countries present to Europe and the world, highlighting the rich minerals and oil deposits Sub-Saharan Africa has to provide.
Reinforcing relations with Western Africa is a crucial step toward maintaining France’s economic interests, especially with the growing influence of the Russian military and Chinese commercial infrastructure in the region. Despite these growing tensions, President Macron announced his new policy of French military de-escalation in Africa, while on tour. The remaining French military bases in the region will be co-managed by the host nation who will receive military training and support from France.
The increasing anti-French sentiment in the former French colonies is being fueled by prominent Russian social media platforms promoting pro-Russian and anti-Western ideas. Protesters stood outside the French embassy in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of President Macron’s arrival on Saturday, waving Russian flags and chanting that Macron was not welcome.
Similar sentiments have been expressed in Mali and Burkina Faso in the past year. French troops that occupied both nations to fight Islamist terrorist groups were recalled in November 2022. The governments in Mali and Burkina Faso have since continued to build relationships with Russia, and have installed mercenaries from the Russian Wagner Group.
With the focus off the increasingly unpopular French military presence, President Macron pushed forward his economic policies and proposals. While in Lunada, Angola, Macron met with President Joao Lourenco to discuss the French involvement in the Angolan petroleum industry.
French companies’ representatives attended Macron’s economic forum in Luanda, where Macron promoted the establishment of French companies in Angola, stating, “This fits in with the idea I have of this economic partnership between the African continent and France.”
President Macron traveled from Angola to Gabon, where he met with President Ali Bongo Ondimba to attend the One Forest Summit, dedicated to protecting forests worldwide, including in the Congo River Basin, a source of minerals and oil deposits for Angola.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Macron discussed the importance of the DRC’s mineral trade, appealing to President Félix Tshisekedi by promising French commercialism in the DRC would move forward with reverence..Macron also denounced the rebel groups on the DRC’s eastern border, “The unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Congo cannot be called into question.”
Protesters outside the French Embassy in the DRC ahead of French President Macron’s visit on March 2, 2023. Photo: North Africa Post.
President Macron’s tour came under scrutiny as a last attempt to regain France’s former dominance in the region. With the increasing anti-French sentiments, and the rise of Russian popularity, France’s position of relevance in West Africa looks grim.
Operation Barkhane, a French military initiative to suppress Islamist terrorists in Mali, failed to push the insurgencies out of the region, making France even more unpopular in recent years. The trade relations, business establishment, and diplomatic ties Macron has been trying to build have been overshadowed by the military struggle in the region.
This trip was Macron’s attempt to “salvage what he can,” said Thierry Virocoulon, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations. President Macron’s new military de-escalation policies are the first efforts toward a renewed French presence in Africa.