barely elected, Bassirou Diomaye Faye intends to overhaul relations between Senegal and France

The new Senegalese president declared that his country would remain the “safe and reliable ally” of all “respectful” foreign partners and defended a win-win relationship with France while outlining an exit from the CFA franc.

In Senegal, the defeated candidate, Amadou Ba, of the ruling coalition conceded, on Monday March 25, his defeat in the first round of Sunday’s presidential election against anti-system candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The elected president, second to the opponent Ousmane Sonko who was unable to appear, will be able to apply his program which notably provides for the exit of the CFA franc. Franceinfo met him in his campaign HQ, on the eve of the election.

On Monday, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the new Senegalese president declared that his country would remain “the safe and reliable ally” of all foreign partners “respectful”. “Respectful”, a very important word because it means relationships of equals. France, Senegal’s former colonial power, is indeed its first commercial and economic partner; Paris hopes to maintain solid relations with Dakar.

Balance the relationship

On the eve of the election, when we met him, Bassirou Diomaye Faye insisted that it is not a question of breaking with France but of revisiting relations between the two countries: “The rupture is in relation to ourselves, to our governance practices, our relations with partners, whoever they may be. France has not left Senegal, it is in Senegal. The partnership between France and Senegal, until the moment I speak to you, is a correct partnership but which must be revisited. It must be more winning for us.”

“We have no focus on France. We already said this years ago, unfortunately we were not listened to.”

Bassirou Diomaye Faye, newly elected president of Senegal

at franceinfo

For Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the partnership with France must be as equitable as possible, and this therefore implies that it is not at present. Which means that Senegal will want to review certain trade agreements, just like the fishing agreements with Senegal or the defense agreements in order to protect the interests of the Senegalese.

“We are very poor, very in debt, very behind the world.”

Bassirou Diomaye Faye, new Senegalese president

at franceinfo

The new president wants to bring about a paradigm shift. And this must involve the exit of the CFA franc, a vestige of colonization, according to Bassirou Diomaye Faye: “Africa is 54 countries, there are only 14 countries that do not have their own currency, the other 40 have their own currency. Why must we give up such an important financing lever when we aspire to development? We are told ‘this is a lever that you must be able to activate to move more quickly towards endogenous development’. They tell you ‘no, no, no, disaster, don’t talk about it’. This sovereignty, like other sovereignties, cannot be renounced. On the contrary, we will assert it more because a sovereign country must be totally sovereign, but not half sovereign.”

Senegal is therefore ready to have its own currency to reduce France’s economic influence; there is also talk of diversifying its partners. So many proposals which did not appear in the program of the candidate of power, Amadou Ba, appointed by the outgoing president Macky Sall who maintained excellent relations with Paris.