Bristol university
Russian Federation
This article is about the historical perspectives of the countries of the Sahel (Africa). Since 2022, France has been facing growing hostility in its former colonies, where political, security and economic instability prevail. This former coloniser has been driven out of the Sahel region, which it once considered its area of influence. Some Western analysts are wondering whether France still has a future in Africa. Blamed for all the problems in the West African region, the former colonial power tries to point to just a few factors that have contributed to the growing popular hostility that has taken root in West Africa, and specifically in the Sahel countries: the military presence in Africa, Russian propaganda, a weak development aid policy and the maintenance of a currency controlled by the former coloniser. In this article, the author explores how, beyond superficial considerations, the roots of this hostility can be found in an integrated approach to the various areas of relations between France and its former colonies. France is a victim of its colonial history, which is catching up with it and which it is unable to compensate for in order to benefit from African love. Monetary dependence played a role, but this aspect never provoked popular uprisings. After decolonisation, French interference continued in the political, economic, media, cultural and diplomatic spheres. French and European migration policy was seen in Africa as discrimination, and French development aid became insignificant. The political and security crisis and the military failure of France and the multinational forces in the Sahel, which French researchers play down, were the triggers for the physical manifestation of anti-French sentiment. Finally, the scientific contributions from the West do not take into account the role played by the local media and social media in awakening the conscience of an African youth that has become cultured and that has just learned that France was for decades the advocate of political affairs in international institutions.
geoculture, geopolitics, neocolonialism, Sahel countries, recent history of A anti-French feelings, Francophone Africa, Burkina Faso, Franco-African relations, Mali, Niger, Sahel
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