 Why is France being kicked out of Africa? The year 1960 has been called the year of independence for most African states, but was it truly an independence? Earlier this year, 2023, French President Macron, speaking ahead of a four-country African tour, promised a new era for France's ties with the continent, based on a partnership of equals. He said that the French military base in Africa would henceforth be jointly run by local armed forces, with a visible reduction of French soldiers on the ground. It was to be a new phase in the Franco-African reset that Mr. Macron first laid out in his speech in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso in 2017, found that he was of a generation that doesn't come to tell Africans what to do. Even prior to this time, French relationship with Africa seemed to have improved. President Macron increased aid to the continent, began the return of cultural artifacts stolen during the colonial wars, which has been a long source of resentment to Benin and Senegal, and reached out beyond the usual intergovernment ties to engage younger generations and civil society. He kept that of killed so many local civilians, police and soldiers, supported the regional bloc in Coas as it tries to defend electoral politics against military takeovers and promised to end the Sifa Frank of France-backed regional currency. He even flew to Rwanda in 2022 to apologize and publicly acknowledge French failures during the 1994 genocide. However, in the last few months, France's relationship with Africa has greatly deteriorated. Anti-French feelings have ignited in most of France's former colonies, and the country has now become the target of African criticism. In 2013, Paris militarily intervened in Mali to beat back jihadists who were advancing from the north and threatening to overrun the government in the capital, Bamako. The operation was successful, and the elected government was saved, but any credit has long since disappeared because despite a heavy French presence afterward, the insurgency continued to spread, with the violence spilling over into neighboring countries, and now threatening communities all over the Sahel region beneath the Sahara Desert. In November 2021, a convoy of French troops heading north to support the fight against Islamist militants was repeatedly blockaded by protesters as it crossed Wurkina Faso and Niger. Also in the past few years, among progressive West African commentators and urban youth, there has been a call for the abolition of the CFA Frank, the regional currency used by many Francophone countries, and which is pegged to the euro under a French government guarantee. One of the most defining moments, however, of the decline in France's relationship in Africa was the European powers retreat and announcement of the end of Operation Barkane, launched in 2014 to eliminate armed groups in the Sahel region in Africa and curb their influence. This withdrawal is often seen as a shift in the relations between France and Africa, not just between France and Mali. Operation Barkane was France's largest overseas operation, with a budget of nearly 600 million euros per year. It engaged in everything from combat patrols alongside manly forces and partner militias to intelligence gathering and training to local development activities. The force, with approximately 4,500 soldiers, was spread out between Mali, Barkane Faso, Niger, and Chad. While its headquarters is in Enchimena, Chad's capital, it also has fighter aircraft and bases for intelligence collection and operations in Niger's capital, Naimi, Agadez, Arlet, Tiliberi, and several other sites, as well as around 1,500 troops in northern Mali scattered between the large base at Gao, others at Cadill, Timbuktu, and Tesalit, and more recently a base at Gassi, closer to central Mali, as well as the border with Barkane Faso. Following the May 2021 coup and January 2022 coup in Mali, diplomatic relations between France and Mali began to deteriorate and in 2022, Mali's government spokesman, Colonel Abdul-Leh Meiga, announced in a televised address that the African country was tearing up defense agreements with France. In addition, a special document from the Malian government instructed French Ambassador Joel Meir to leave the territory of the African state within 72 hours. The story is also the same in Barkane Faso and most recently, Niger. Following Mali's path, the president of Barkane Faso ordered the withdrawal of French troops from the country and ended the presence of the French military on Birkenheim soil. The reason for this was that the Birkenheim believes that despite their presence on Birkenheim soil with huge equipment and their power at the intelligence level, they couldn't help us defeat terrorism, so there was no need for them to be in the country. In Niger, the trend has also been the same. Following the coup this year where a trusted ally of France was taken hostage, protesters massed at the French embassy soon after, setting it on fire and shattering windows. Most of the protesters carried plaques with down with France written on it. A coronal in uniform also appeared on state television, announcing that the military was ending its cooperation with France. If the coup in Niger is successful, all the French troops will be sure to leave the country and Chad would remain the only country in the Sahel region known to host a French base. Yet another fresh scandal occurred in the stay hour, where Paris was symbolically humiliated by taking away from the French ambassador the privilege of being the dean of the diplomatic course. This status, as noted in a press release, was reserved for French ambassadors, but they do not apply reciprocity in diplomatic matters properly. So, why is France being kicked out of Africa? Why is France's relationship with Africa deteriorating? The answer, according to President Macron, is Russia. During the International Organization of Francophony, IOF Summit, held in Tumis on November 19, 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron accused Russia of fomenting anti-French sentiment by condemning the actions of Wagner Group cooperation in Mali and the CAR. He accused Russia of following personal interests and a plundering project in African countries, where France has recently suffered military setbacks and generally lost its former influence, from diplomacy and cooperation to declining interest in the French language on the continent. In his own words, this perception, it is fed by others, it is a political project. I am not fooled many influencers, including sometimes people on your sets, are paid by the Russians. We know them. Several powers who want to build influence in Africa develop this to damage France, damage its language, make people doubt, but above all go for interests. But can Russia truly be blamed for France's declining relationship with Africa? According to Swiss Cameroonian activist Nathalie Yam, France still treats Africans as subhuman. She stated that France is only great when it climbs on the shoulders of Africa. It is against our commitment to the emancipation and respect of African men and women that Emmanuel Macron has decided to go to war and reaffirm that we, the people of Africa, are subhumans, animals incapable of thinking, deciding, and speaking for themselves. She also criticized the racism, the condescending racialism of Macron, and the French and European political class towards Africans. And as proof of the truth she spoke, Madame Yam was subsequently officially banned from entering France by the Macron government, according to Monde Afrique. The fact is that African populists are tired of the continuous meddling of France in their affairs despite supposed freedom. A meddling that has led to the continuous plunging of African resources. For decades, France has kept close, albeit complicated, ties with many former colonies, including a military presence, economic influence, and direct access to heads of state, a web often referred to as France Afrique, that came to embody France's obsession with keeping a foothold there. It's continuing military presence and financial power, as exercised through the CFA franc. Across the region has left in concealed anger for France by the populace. The growing anti-French sentiment demonstrates that the hegemonic attitude that is the norm for France on the continent, even under the guise of decolonization slogans, no longer suits Africans. They have tolerated for long enough the Jacques-Foucault-inspired French freak, which includes interventions, financial domination, covered operations to eliminate and displace patriotic leaders. And teaching French language and culture in Europe to African elites only strengthened their loyalty to Paris. Also, the military elite was long formed by the French until a series of military coups on the continent. And from an economic point of view, France was extremely comfortable with the system formed for decades, because, one, it is cheap resources. Africa supplies France with uranium from nuclear reactors from the Sea Hour and Niger. Two, currency control. The CFA franc still remains, and French banks keep deposits in these currencies. Three, large benefits for French companies where they are awarded first right to every contract in Africa. And don't forget that when a country resists, it is subject to sanctions and pressure, like Mali, Guinea and others. So can Paris easily give up what it has been working on for decades? Of course not. So to cover its own crimes, France blames anyone but itself. Well, regardless of what France believes, Africans are now in a position to decide for themselves with whom and on which issues they are more profitable and comfortable to interact. Given the crisis of confidence in Paris and the failure of the Franc-free Confederation itself, it is not surprising that Africa is looking for interesting proposals from China, Turkey, Russia and other states. What are your thoughts? Can France truly leave Africa completely? Do leave your comments down below, and don't forget to subscribe, like and share this video.