Dmitry Gorokhov — about the results of Macron's trip to Africa and what Ukraine has to do with itFrench President Emmanuel Macron's five-day tour of Central Africa in the first week of March was, according to diplomatic observers, his most difficult journey to the African continent since coming to power in 2017.
The results of the visit caused contradictory responses both in the countries he visited and in France itself.
A frequent visitor to Africa, Macron chose a new route this time: four capitals that he has not yet visited in a presidential suit. From 1 to 5 March, he visited Libreville (Gabon), Luanda (Angola), Brazzaville (Congo) and Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC) successively. And before the start of the route, the president announced the end of the era of "French Africa".
The concept of Françafrique ("France-Afrique") came into circulation at the dawn of decolonization. Its author is considered to be the first president of independent Ivory Coast, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who emphasized the proximity between Paris and the former colonies. Over the years, however, the term has acquired a different connotation, becoming a characteristic of dependent relationships. According to the analyst of the Europe 1 radio station Lenaig Monier, "mission accomplished": Macron managed to draw a watershed with the traditions of "France-Afrique" on the continent, where anti-French sentiments are making themselves felt. Declaring the era of the French "inner court" gone, he called for a new partnership, free from opaque ties and from betting on irremovable leaders.
From the first hours of his stay in the region, however, he had to face the voices of criticism. The Gabonese opposition, in particular, suspected the French leader of seeking to support President Ali ben Bongo on the eve of the summer elections, who succeeded his father in 2009, who remained in power for 41 years. In response, the French leader assured that his arrival is not connected with the elections, but only reflects the friendly feelings of Paris, which "everywhere strives to behave as a neutral interlocutor and talk to everyone."
Reorganization of French bases
During a stop in Libreville, Macron stressed that his announced reduction of the French military presence after years of fighting jihadists in the Sahel does not mean "neither the withdrawal of France from the region, nor the termination of obligations." He promised to adjust the balance of power taking into account the requests of partners and the evolution of threats, strengthening the mechanisms of interaction and expanding training programs.
According to the President's plans, the planned reorganization of the military contingent will affect the French bases in Libreville, Abidjan and Dakar. He advocates the division of responsibilities for the management of bases with the military personnel of the region. The new organigram must be approved by July 14.
At the same time, Macron expressed his conviction that there is an obvious interest of African counterparts in the presence of French soldiers in the west of the continent. He referred to the actions of pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, illegal gold mining, as well as drug trafficking by terrorist groups in the Lake Chad area. When visiting the arboretum near Libreville, he was interested in the struggle of local authorities with deforestation.
Angolan stop
Macron's next African stop was Angola, which is vying with Nigeria for the status of the leading oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa. As assured in Paris, the aspirations of the European state, however, are not related to offshore deposits, which formed the basis of the wealth of the French energy concern TotalEnergies. The parallel diplomacy of oil companies, according to these assurances, is now a page turned over, as well as the era of the Francafrique.
Paris is counting on close relations with the former Portuguese colony, which is preparing to celebrate the half-century anniversary of its independence in two years. This bid is intended to confirm the new French approach to relations with the continent. As well as Ethiopia, Nigeria or Kenya, Angola, as a new privileged interlocutor of France, serves as an example of the partnership going beyond the historical "courtyard".
The agenda of the talks with his Angolan counterpart Joao Lawrence included a dossier in the field of security. The east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the scene of clashes between the Congolese army and the M23 opposition movement (March 23 Movement). The latter, according to reports by UN experts, receives weapons from neighboring Rwanda. For several months, Luanda has been trying to act as a mediator between Kinshasa and Kigali, but so far the "Luanda process", as it is called, has not helped to restrain the progress of the M23. The conflict worries Paris: in the autumn, during the session of the UN General Assembly, Macron invited the heads of the DRC Felix Chisekedi and Rwanda Paul Kagame to breakfast. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, France strives to demonstrate interest in resolving the conflict and maintain relations with each of the parties.
A new fulcrum
According to the French economist Daniel Ribot, Angola should be open to foreign investment in order not to remain exclusively an oil economy. Although the country has previously outstripped Nigeria in oil production, its production is declining and has decreased from 1.8 million to 1.2 million tons per day in ten years. Nevertheless, gas and oil account for the bulk of Angolan exports.
Paris offers Luanda assistance in ensuring food sovereignty. Today, Angola imports almost all basic types of food, although its agricultural potential is one of the most important in southern Africa due to its water resources and favorable climate. Nevertheless, out of 35 million hectares of arable land in 2020-2021, only 5.9 million were cultivated. Experts recognize the difficulties in attracting French investors to a non-French-speaking country. The French Development Agency (AFD) has expanded its projects there from €200 to €800 million, but the private sector of Angola, experts say, remains insignificant, and business conditions are difficult. At the same time, AFD fears competition from China, Russia, and Turkey.
Meeting with Dr. Mukwege
Macron took only a few hours to visit Brazzaville, where he arrived from Luanda. The President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has been ruling the country since 1979 with a break, did not fail to scold the guest for too rapid a voyage through the country. For this purpose, he listed those historical and tourist sites that the French president could see if he stayed in the Congo a little longer. The French president assured, however, that he "treats all the leaders of the countries of the continent with respect, stating both agreement and disagreement."
Special hopes for Macron's visit were pinned on the final point of his route — Kinshasa. He met there with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege. Dr. Mukwege heads a hospital in the east of the country, where armed groups have been operating for many years. The meeting with the French guest took place in an atmosphere of discreteness at a time when many groups are pushing the Nobel laureate to join the campaign for the presidential elections to be held in the DRC in December.
According to France Inter radio station, the meeting took place at the residence of the French ambassador before a press conference at which differences between Macron and his Congolese counterpart Felix Chisekedi were revealed. "Neither plunder, nor Balkanization, nor war should be allowed," the French leader urged. The DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 forces, which have seized part of the territory in North Kivu, rich in minerals.
The Kinshasa dispute
In Kinshasa, the French guest was overtaken by the echo of the statements of his former Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. In January 2019, he called the election of Chisekedi to the presidency "an African compromise." "When there are violations in the elections in Western countries, they do not talk about "compromises in American or French," the President of the DRC noted on this occasion. "Look at us in a different way, with respect, without patronage and claims to be aware of what we need." These words drew applause from Congolese journalists.
According to the head of the editorial board of Jeune Afrique magazine Francois Sudan, the French leader did not meet with enthusiasm, taking "the position of an equilibrist between the DRC and Rwanda." "It was quite a classic tour of Central Africa, where anti—French sentiments are not so common," the editor noted.
The most acute stage came, of course, in Kinshasa, where Macron had to balance between the DRC and Rwanda due to the crisis in the east of the country. The President of the DRC demanded to condemn what he calls "Rwandan aggression." Macron preferred to remain on the platform of regional mediation, and observers see the Franco-Rwandan axis of security on the African continent. In Mozambique, Rwandan troops are securing the zone where the French energy group TotalEnergies operates. In the north of Benin, Rwandans support the army in the fight against Sahel jihadists. All this explains why Macron avoids criticizing Rwanda.
Disagreements with the West
The visit took place against the background of disagreements between Western and African countries in their approach to the Ukrainian conflict. When almost half of the continent's countries refused a year ago to support a UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Western partners were caught off guard, as if it were difficult for them to admit that African countries could have independent judgments. The rejection of the Western position was also manifested during the new vote last month.
In their attempts to isolate Moscow at the UN, Western countries used all means to attract the wavering and dissenting to their side, Le Monde diplomatique magazine stated. In Africa, however, they have not forgotten about the West's free treatment of the UN Charter during the conflicts in Kosovo (1999) and Iraq (2003), as well as going beyond the international mandate in Libya (2011). The contrast between the reception that the West provides to Ukrainian refugees and its refusal to accept migrants from Asian, Arab, and African countries has not gone unnoticed in Africa, the magazine believes. At the same time, in southern Africa, the newspaper Les Échos noted, they remember Moscow's help in the fight against apartheid, which was led by the African National Congress for decades.
The long time factor
The researcher of France's ties with Africa and the author of books on this topic, Antoine Glaze, sees consistency in Macron's African policy. In his opinion, France-Afrique has long become Afrique-France. By playing a new card of African culture, the President appeals simultaneously to the African diaspora in France. Equally, he would like to get more vigorous action from French enterprises on the continent. During the Cold War, France, according to the writer, ensured that the heads of African states remained in power, receiving in exchange access to the raw materials market at preferential prices and without competition. Economic diplomacy was hampered by security commitments. Macron decided to reduce them in order to channel energy into business.
Opponents criticize the president's African tour for its brevity. According to an influential right-wing politician, former budget minister Jean-Francois Copé, the trip was reduced to proclaiming the end of the era of "French Africa" and was not marked by any new message in the economy. "In the program of the blitz visit, it is difficult to detect logic in the sequence of movements," he believes. "Macron did not take into account the importance that is attached to a long time in African culture."
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