Macron provides outrage for military aid with a testimony about Africa's gratitude

Macron provides outrage for military aid with a testimony about Africa's gratitude

The governments of Africa criticized a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron, in which he explained that some leaders showed "ungrateful" for the use of French troops in the Sahel zone in the fight against Islamist extremism.

Macron's statements about the Sahelzone

Macron said during a conference for French ambassadors in Paris on Monday that the shelves - which are plagued by civil wars and violent extremism - remained sovereign only because of French troops. He also rejected the idea that French soldiers had been deducted from the Sahel zone, which would reflect France's dwindling influence on his former colonies.

demand for gratitude?

"We had a security relationship that was shown in two ways: First, our commitment to terrorism has been since 2013. I think someone has forgotten to say 'Thank you'. This is not important, it will come over time," said Macron during the conference.

reactions from Africa

Macron's statements were sharply condemned by the Foreign Minister of Tschad, Abderaman Koulamallah. He accused the French president a "contemptuous attitude towards Africa and Africans". Macron accused the consecutive attempts at coups for the withdrawal of French troops from the region. "We went because there were attempts to put coup. On request, we were there sovereign states that France asked for help. From the moment there were attempts at coup, and when people said: 'Our focus is no longer in the fight against terrorism', France had no place there, because we are not the aid for the coupons. So we went."

French troops in retreat

In recent years, French troops have left Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali for coups, while the anti-French sentiment has increased significantly. They also prepare their deduction from Chad, the Ivory Coast and Senegal. Similarly, French armed forces moved out of the Central African Republic in 2022 after it was used there in 2013 after a coup that triggered a civil war.

criticism and reactions to Macron's speech

"None of them would be a sovereign country today if the French army had not been stationed in the region," said Macron and added: "My heart applies to all of our soldiers who have sometimes given their lives and have fought for years. We did it well." In a statement, Koulamallah said that "France never significantly equipped the Chadical Army or contributed to its structural development". The minister noted: "In 60 years of history, shaped by civil wars, rebellions and persistent political instability, the French contribution was often limited to its own strategic interests, without real lasting influence on the development of the Chad People."

Chad ends defense cooperation with France

In November, Chad announced that the defense cooperation with France ends in order to emphasize his sovereignty. In his speech on Monday, Macron insisted that France's influence in Africa does not decrease, but that the country only "reorganized".

Farewell to French military bases

Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko rejected this view and declared that Senegal had decided to conclude all foreign military base points, including the French, which "had happened as a free, independent and sovereign country". He added that there was "no conversations or negotiations" with the French. "Let us state that France has neither capacity nor the legitimacy of ensuring the security and sovereignty of Africa," emphasized Sonko.

activists express outrageous reactions

also activists in Africa were outraged about Macron's comments. "Macron's statement that African leaders should be grateful for France's military interventions, and the claim that the sovereignty of West Africa is thanks to the French army, smells of revision and intellectual dishonesty as well as moral bankruptcy", wrote the Togolese author and social activist Farida Bemourema in a detailed post.

Russian military support in the Sahel

Some Sahelnations are increasingly turning to Russian military aid to gain distance from their former western partners. Under the leadership of Junta, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso signed military partnerships with Moscow and receive contingent Russian military instructors from the shadowy mercenary group Wagner.

These developments show a remarkable change in the geopolitical dynamics of the Sahel area, since countries are looking for alternative security solutions and avert themselves from traditional western actors.