By Yuan Wu
In November 2024, Chad, regarded as the most reliable ally of France in Africa, demanded the withdrawal of French troops from its territory. On December 31, 2024, during their New Year's messages, the Presidents of Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal both called for the withdrawal of French forces from their countries starting in 2025. In recent years, several West African countries have ordered the expulsion of French troops, many of which were considered "friendly countries" to France in Africa. In response, French President Emmanuel Macron claimed that France was helping African countries combat terrorism and that African countries "forgot to say thank you." However, this statement further fueled anger in African countries, worsening the already strained relationship between France and Africa.
France has long viewed the French-speaking African countries as a foundation for maintaining its status as a major power and has used various means to reinforce its control over these countries. As a result, France has maintained its military presence in Africa. France established a "security cooperation" relationship with French-speaking African countries after their independence, which primarily involved defense treaties, military technology and aid agreements, military training, military bases, and arms exports. By the end of the Cold War, France had signed 23 military agreements with African countries and stationed troops in 22 African countries. At its peak, France had 60,000 troops and nearly 90 military bases across Africa. After the Cold War, France had once reduced its military presence in Africa but strengthened it again after 2010. Since 2011, France has launched five major military operations in Africa, most of which focused on French-speaking African countries. Meanwhile, the US also deployed a large number of military personnel to West Africa under the pretext of counterterrorism after 2000.
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020, the world economy rapidly deteriorated and Africa could not stand aloof. Economic crises in some West African countries led to political crises, sparking military coups in multiple nations. After these coups, many of the new governments used "opposing French interference" as the basis for their legitimacy, which, to some extent, reflects West African countries' dissatisfaction with French intervention.
The anti-French sentiment among the African people stems from the political and economic control exerted by France and other Western countries over Africa. France monopolizes the uranium mining in Niger. The French nuclear power company AREVA subsidizes about 30% of France's electricity generation through extensive transfer pricing tax avoidance, while the people of Niger are barely able to benefit from their own resources. Besides, France exerts control over West and Central Africa through its financial system, which has become a means for France to continue influencing the region. France has gained control over the issuance of currencies in 15 African countries through "cooperation agreements." Moreover, it has exerted influence over the banking and fiscal policies of some African countries, thereby obtaining dominance over their economies. A series of French interventions has resulted in nearly all the resource value and economic profits of these countries being controlled by France, severely limiting their own development.
Using the pretext of the rise of terrorism in the Sahel region, France and the US have increased their military presence in Africa in recent years. However, the paradox that greater counter-terrorism efforts do not always lead to a decrease in terrorist activities has led many African countries to believe that the West is using the fight against terrorism as a pretext to solidify their military presence in the region. In Niger, public opinion holds that one of the true purposes of the US military presence is to control their rich uranium resources, as well as oil and mineral resources in other African countries. In this context, it is understandable that the growing illegitimacy of Western military presence in Africa has led many African countries to issue expulsion orders.
It is worth noting that Africa's struggle for national liberation and independence in the 20th century marked their "first awakening," which was built on the weakened European colonial dominance following WWII. In recent years, the solidarity and cooperation of the Global South and the rise of developing countries as a whole are reshaping the international landscape, providing African countries with a historic opportunity for their "second awakening."
(The author is an associate researcher of the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.)
Editor's note: Originally published on china.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
