Emmanuel Macron has made relations with the African continent one of the priorities of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union. An EU-Africa summit will be held on February 17 and 18, as Paris’s relations with Mali and the Central African Republic have recently been strained.
In Mali, the political and military intervention of France criticized
The Malian junta calls for the demonstration of the population, Friday January 14, after the sanctions this week of ECOWAS, and the threats of new restrictions on the part of the United States and the European Union. At the instigation of France, pressure is now exerted against the Malian military so that they respect the democratic process. But is the political message sent by Paris to Africa still well received by the people?
Rarely have diplomatic relations between France and Mali been so deleterious. The two military coups in nine months between August 2020 and May 2021 caused a breach of trust between Paris and Bamako. The failure to respect the commitments of the transitional authorities towards a return to constitutional order through the organization of general elections in February 2022 have, moreover, intensified the differences of opinion between the two countries.
The President of the Transition, HE Col @GoitaAssimi received in audience this Wednesday, HE @presgoodluck, ECOWAS mediator in the Malian crisis . At the center of the exchanges: the evolution of the political situation in Mali. pic.twitter.com/JN88QT4PM1
— Presidency Mali (@PresidenceMali) January 5, 2022
The Malian government believes that it is its strategy of rapprochement with Russia that is called into question. France on the front line as well as several Western countries have been denouncing for several weeks the possible deployment of mercenaries from the Wagner company. Mali defends itself by speaking of state-to-state partnerships with Russia. For the Malian population, the return to security is set as a priority and for many Operation Barkhane has failed to end the conflicts in the country. This leads to rejection and distrust of the French military presence among some Malians.
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In addition to the security aspect, it is also the French policy in the Sahel which is called into question. France’s contradictions regarding the defense of democratic principles in the world are regularly pointed out. Blaise Diarra, a doctor in Bamako, summarizes this mistrust: “I don’t understand, in Saudi Arabia, in Qatar, there is no democracy. Their allies are France and the United States. There are no term limits for presidents in Europe. and it’s not a problem, I don’t understand. In Asian countries, the same thing.”
“Is it because we are poor, or because we are black, that they want to impose something on us that they modeled on their population and that they want to impose on us? I say no, the democracy, okay, but each country has its own way of being governed.
Blaise Diarra, Malian doctorat franceinfo
In Mali, France is perceived by part of civil society as having an aggressive policy that only defends its economic interests in Africa. A large segment of the population is campaigning for win-win partnerships between states, and castigates “France-Africa” and its relations of domination. Nationalist discourses have more and more echo in the country. As proof, Friday’s demonstration is considered a mobilization for the defense of the sovereignty of the Malian people vis-à-vis France and the leaders of the community of West African states, ECOWAS, who have harshly sanctioned Mali.
In the Central African Republic, a bitterness against France
In the Central African Republic, the second poorest country in the world, torn by civil war since 2013, Paris has also adopted sanctions and hardened its diplomatic position following campaigns against France. According to the franceinfo correspondent in Bangui, there is not really any anti-French feeling among the Central African population. Carol Valade, on the other hand, noted a form of resentment within the political elite. A feeling of abandonment vis-à-vis the former colonizer who has always played a political and military role since independence.
France intervened during the civil war in 2013, it was Operation Sangaris which ended three years later. The power of Bangui then turned to Russia to ensure its security and to fight the rebel groups which controlled almost all of its territory. And it is at this moment that the first actions hostile to France appear, in parallel with the rise of the group, as in Mali, of Wagner, the Russian private military company whose members are qualified as mercenaries by the UN. . These militiamen are accused of serious abuses against civilians.
These anti-French campaigns first took the form of an inflection in political discourse: press articles, small demonstrations and an overabundant disinformation activity on social networks. “This anti-French speech makes it possible to legitimize the presence of Russian predatory mercenaries”, said Emmanuel Macron last spring. The French head of state accused his Central African counterpart of being “the hostage of the Wagner group”. Paris then suspended its budgetary aid and recalled some of the aid workers.
This distrust is not only aimed at France but also at the United Nations in the Central African Republic, resulting in Bangui’s growing isolation internationally. The United States has also ceased its logistical support, the European Union has suspended its training, while the IMF is slow to release its funds for the same reasons. President Touadera is now caught in the crossfire, so to speak. Russia, on the one hand, which provides it with the military aid essential to its political survival, and France and the West, on the other hand, who hold the purse strings and international recognition.