Lhe ties between France and its former colonies have always been complex. Fhaped by the ambitions and personalities of successive leaders succeeded, it is weakenedand undeniably called into question by a growing number of African countries, to the benefit of other emerging emerging powers. Find out more at.
The year 2023 saw some major political events in Africa. In Niger, the coup d'état overthrowing former President Mohammed Bazoum resulted in a military withdrawal by France, the closure of its embassy in Niamey and particularly hostile demonstrations against the former colonial power. As in Mali in 2021 and Burkina Faso in 2022, the putschists' strategy was to capitalize on anti-French sentiment, particularly shared by some of Africa's youth. A setback for Emmanuel Macron, who had placed youth at the heart of his policy in Africa.
The weight of clumsy clumsy
Why is this? France has failed to reinvent its policy towards its former colonies. "It has remained in its rut, out of step with the aspirations of African youth driven by a strong desire for emancipation," says a former diplomat from Gabon. It has also been weakened by a lack of action, and emptied of substance by ill-chosen words. Everyone remembers French speeches that have gone down in history for the wrong reasons: the controversy they generated. Emmanuel Macron's speech to the G20 in 2017 on the supposed "civilizational challenge" facing the continent. Nicolas Sarkozy in Dakar in 2007, for whom "the African man had not sufficiently entered History".
L'influence of foreign powers multiplied by social networks... and fiction!
All these factors have paved the way for other foreign powers to exert a growing and aggressive influence on the continent. Such is the case of Russia, which has developed particularly effective propaganda tools to discredit France's position in Africa. In January 2023, the Wagner army branch staged a tendentious clip to reject the French presence in the Sahel region, recounting the victorious struggle of African armies against the French invaders, thanks to the intervention of Russian fighters.
The process may come as a surprise, but it's nothing new. In 2019, a video glorifying Russia's presence in the Central African Republic and the two countries' cooperation quickly went viral on Youtube. And in late 2022, a similar video likened Emmanuel Macron to a looting rat. Seemingly crude, even grotesque, these tools are particularly effective: the clips are short - and therefore easily exportable - they appear candid but convey strong messages. They have been massively distributed on social networks, notably Facebook, in an increasingly connected part of the world.
Across the Atlantic, the blockbuster film "Black Panther II" was used as leverage in this informational war, with a sequence featuring French soldiers accused of plundering natural resources, prisoners kneeling before the queen of a fictitious African kingdom, in garb similar to that of French soldiers deployed in Mali until August 2022. "A false and misleading representation" that Sébastien Lecornu, French Minister of the Armed Forces and Defense, was keen to publicly condemn.
France the test of globalization
France's declining influence in this part of the world mirrors the struggle currently being waged on the international stage. Russian propaganda has cast Vladimir Putin as a champion of anti-colonialism, one of the few leaders in the world to openly and explicitly oppose the West's so-called "neo-colonial system". China, despite suffering an economic slowdown of historic and significant proportions, remains Africa's second-favorite development model. As for the "American Dream", it still appeals.
All in all, the power of Russia attracts, the rapid and sustained development of China inspires, and the United States is still the stuff of dreams. Although it's hard to compete with such a triptych, France nonetheless has a number of assets that need to be exploited as a matter of urgency.
Restoring desire
France needs to become desirable again, both in form and substance. It would benefit from breaking with old, obsolete traditional methods (speeches, tours, etc.) and relying more on embassies to address civil society with finesse and subtlety. It is no longer tenable to follow a strategy that only includes political leaders, when these can be overthrown overnight.
It would also be appropriate to consider renewing France's media offering abroad. Some channels, such as TV5 Monde and France 24, could be enriched with programs that are better adapted to geographical zones, taking into account the cultural particularities of each country.
Social networks need to be reinvested: today, France seems to be leaving the field wide open for the installation of a narrative contrary to its interests. For almost two years now, information has been circulating in Africa to the effect that the Quai d'Orsay has been tasked with launching a media of influence on the Internet to counter anti-French narratives. It remains to be seen whether Jérémie Robert, Emmanuel Macron's new Africa advisor, will make this a priority.
