Editorial: No France without Africa!.

After World War II, France underwent a remarkable period of economic growth, known as the “Trente Glorieuses” or “Glorious Thirty Years,” from 1945 to 1975. 

The country, within this period, became West Europe's second leading economy after Germany, thanks to its exploitation of Africa's natural resources, foreign reserves and even sporting talents.



In the ongoing Summer Olympics in Paris, more than 80% of the athletes in Team France are naturalised citizens, mostly descendants of Africa, who are chasing gold medals.

It was the same scenario at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, when the Blues took home the coveted trophy, with only three of the players of original French nationality. 

The designation of Karim Benzema, footballer of Algerian origin, as the 66th Ballon d’Or winner in history honoured France. He joined several Africans, among them Cameroonians, such as Kylian Mbappé, who make the French proud and delighted in victories.

The French football squad at the recently ended Euro, that was hosted by Germany, had more Africans than original French nationals. Of the 25-man squad at Euro 2024, only six were of France origin while the remaining 19 were of African descent! 

But the exploitation of African sports persons has not been as shouting and contentious like in the domain of the economy and finance. 

Anti-French sentiment rose to the apex, which President Emmanuel Macron termed an "epidemic of putsches", following coups in half a dozen former French colonies in West and Central Africa, over three years.

Even before then, several scholars and politicians in Africa had been criticising France's dependence on African resources and defending autocratic leaders who serve their interests.

One of their acerbic critics was Italy's firebrand Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who in November 2022, launched a blistering diatribe, claiming immigration from Africa would stop, if countries like France  resists exploiting the continent's people and natural resources.  

Speaking to a television audience, Meloni said France is still "forcing" African nations to hand over 50% of its exports to them. 

"This is called CFA Franc. It is the colonial currency that France prints for 14 African nations, to which it apples seigniorage and by virtue of which it exploits the resources of the nations,'' Meloni stated. 

That remark pricked the bitter bile of French politicians. But the honest Italian politician was only speaking the truth which had been echoed before by two former French heads of state.

President François Mitterrand, in 1957 predicted that "without Africa, France would not have any position in the 21st century"!

He was categorical that France can only have any position in the 21st century if it maintains its control over African former colonies.

In 2008, President Jacques Chirac re-echoed the prophecy that "without Africa, France will be relegated to the rank of a third power".

With the simmering anti-French sentiment raising political and economic reawakening, especially among up and rising young politicians and intellectuals, signs of the prophecies being fulfilled are sprouting out in the continent and even in France.

France's influential Le Monde reported in September last year that "French influence in the Sahel has collapsed…elsewhere on the continent, it is on the defensive, and nothing Paris says can restore it".

However, French politicians are fighting back. During a visit to Africa, Macron, said: "I am of a generation that doesn't tell Africans what to do," he told cheering students in Burkina Faso, shortly after his election.

He promised to return looted colonial-era artifacts, although only a fraction has been shipped back. Like his recent predecessors, he maintained that the tangle of post-colonial business and political ties, dubbed Francafrique, was long dead.

In February this year, Macron promised to draw down French forces in Africa and create a new "security partnership", with bases on the continent transformed, depending on African needs, and jointly managed with African troops.

Skeptics say Macron hasn't always walked his talk. They point to many enduring trappings of French influence; from thousands of troops still stationed in Africa to a raft of longstanding mining concessions benefitting French companies. There is also the CFA Franc, requiring West and Central African members to deposit half their foreign exchange reserves with the French treasury.

France will certainly not want to become a third world power and probably forfeiting its permanent United Nations permanent seat at the Security Council, where it has veto powers like the United States, China, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

But that shouldn't be the concerns of the former colonies. 

As some researchers have advised, "breaking free from the historical legacy of exploitation, navigating the complexities of global power dynamics, and harnessing its abundant resources for the benefit of all citizens should be the paramount tasks of Africans”.

At The Guardian Post, we have the conviction that by reclaiming control over their resources, monetary policies, and ensuring political stability through credible elections that empower youth, former French colonies can and should overcome the burdens of the past and emerge as a force to be reckoned with on the global stage.

They can do that in collaboration with other foreign countries as Cameroon has done to a certain extent with China, Russia and Nigeria without colonial strings in a geopolitical context where national interest comes first, not that of former colonisers.  

 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3185 of Wednesday July 31, 2024

 

 

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