“The age of Francafrique is well over,” Macron said in remarks to the French community in the capital Libreville, referring to France’s post-colonization strategy of supporting authoritarian leaders to defend its interests.
“Sometimes, I get the feeling that mindsets haven’t moved along as much as we have, when I read, hear, and see people ascribing intentions to France that it doesn’t have,” he added.
“Francafrique” is a favorite target of pan-Africanists, who have said that after the wave of decolonization in 1960, France propped up dictators in its former colonies in exchange for access to resources and military bases.
The strategy is no longer in effect, and according to Macron and his predecessors, most notably Francois Hollande, France has no intention of interfering in other countries internal affairs.
Macron declared on Monday that France would “noticeably reduce” its soldier presence in Africa “in the next months” and place a greater emphasis on preparing and supplying the armed forces of its allies.
French forces have left former colonies Mali, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic in the past year (CAR).
A surge of local antagonism led to the withdrawal of its forces from Mali and Burkina Faso, where they had been helping the Sahel countries fight an ongoing armed revolt.
Macron said the upcoming reorganization was “neither a withdrawal nor a disengagement” in his speech on Thursday, characterizing it as adjusting to the requirements of partners.
Fighting maritime piracy, illicit gold mining, and environmental crimes connected to regional drug trafficking—which, according to him, is itself driven by a “terrorist movement” in the Lake Chad region—were among the areas of collaboration.
According to official statistics, there are more than 3,000 French soldiers serving in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Gabon, and Djibouti.
The first three bases are subject to the suggested redesign, but not Djibouti, which is primarily focused on the Indian Ocean.
A further 3,000 soldiers are stationed in the Sahel region of West Africa, which includes Niger and Chad.
On Friday, Macron will travel to Angola, a former Portuguese colony, where he plans to sign a deal to expand the agricultural industry as part of an effort to strengthen France’s links with Portuguese- and English-speaking Africa.
He will subsequently make a stop in the neighboring DRC and the Republic of Congo, another former French colony that Sassou Nguesso has reigned over for almost 40 years in all.
In an effort to revitalize France’s post-colonial connection with the continent, Macron visited Cameroon, Benin, and Guinea-Bissau on his first trip there after being re-elected in 2017.
The journey was to “demonstrate the dedication of the president in the process of restoring the relationship with the African continent”, a French presidential official said, who asked not to be named. It gave the impression that his presidency places a “political emphasis” on the continent of Africa.
