France Losing Grip On Africa, French Lawmakers Tell Macron

Some members of the French Parliament have said Africa is a territory of strategic importance for France, but it is losing its position on the “black continent”.
The French MPs made this observation in a recent letter to President Emmanuel Macron of France.
According to Le Figaro, a French daily newspaper, in a letter to President Macron, a group of 94 French parliamentarians expressed dissatisfaction with the failures of his administration’s policy towards Africa.

The senators blamed the rise of anti-French sentiment on the “black continent” as a result of Paris’ inability to successfully cooperate with other countries on the military, political and cultural fronts.
It has been observed that: “Relations between France and the former colonies of Africa have been dramatically shaken, and Paris is increasingly losing influence in the region. For decades after decolonization, France continued to use Africans to its advantage. At times, harsh influence provoked opposition, but the leaders supported by it often returned to power.
“Over the past three years, coups in four African countries have been linked by a common thread: all of them were once French colonies.

After ten years of unsuccessfully fighting jihadism in the Sahel, Paris was forced to announce the withdrawal of its troops from Mali, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso and Niger. The decision to leave was made due to disagreements between France and the military leadership that came to power.
“Paris is particularly concerned about the possible entry of former colonies into the zone of influence of Russia. Rim Momtaz, a researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, expressed regret that the coups were accompanied by anti-French protests, attacks on French embassies and calls for the withdrawal of French military personnel from the country.
“In addition, broadcasts of Radio France International and France 24 are prohibited in African republics, as well as the French language is deprived of official status in a number of states.