“French Go Home:” Why are Relations Between France and West Africa Melting Down?

“Harlem Désir reçoit Mohamed Bazoum, ministre des Affaires Etrangères du Niger” by Philippe Grangeaud is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

In an early 2023 interview with the Financial Times, then Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum came out in staunch defense of continued French military presence within his borders. “[Niger’s] adversaries want to project an image of France as a neocolonialist power,” he retorted, “Some people stick to that cliché, which is not true, but which is very useful for propaganda.” 

According to Bazoum, France grew into a necessary ally for Niger’s war against terrorism after President Francois Hollande first initiated Operation Barkhane in 2014. France had long been regarded as the region's most reliable guarantor of stability, especially when held against the long record of human rights abuses committed by Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group. Faced with ever emboldening militants along the Mali border, partnership between the two countries became an unavoidable fact. 

Bazoum’s fellow countrymen, however, failed to see eye to eye on the issue. To many Nigeriens, France had never served as the partner their president lauded; instead, in forcing itself on former colonial states, France maintained a long-reviled status quo of domination and imperialism. 

To the credit of la République’s detractors, their grievances have unignorable historical, political and economic merit. Most of the significant conflicts plaguing the Sahel can be better understood when contextualized by the region’s record of exploitation from outside forces. 

When direct pilfering under the French empire came to an end, many hoped for independence from France’s grip. Unfortunately, that would not be an immediate development. Neocolonialism and continual political turbulence, often directly at the hands of Paris, have continued to stymie West African economic and human development for decades. 

Though dismissed by French administrators as a relic of the past, Sahelians continue to contend with the ghosts of Francafrique, the neocolonial network of political, economic, and military ties that kept the region firmly under the French sphere of influence. With negative perceptions of France’s imperialist history running high, increased geopolitical ire with the West, lessening sway of institutions like the International Monetary Fund, and mixed messaging in France - West Africans have increasingly viewed their former colonizer pessimistically. As one exasperated civilian in Niamey remarked, “terrorists are on both sides.”

A decade-long French military intervention with yet to be seen positive results only exacerbated this ill sentiment, setting the stage for a foreign relations meltdown.

France first became inextricably entangled in the region's current ethno-religious conflict after the creation of Operation Serval in 2013. Niger was among several nations fending off a sweeping Jihadist insurgency that was toppling the stability of successive nations like dominoes. As cycles of retaliation between government and military forces accelerated, local intermediaries were left despondent in a state of political and defensive insecurity. 

To manage the spreading conflict, the Mali-focused Serval was quickly replaced by a larger and far more audacious plan. Operation Barkhane commenced that same year as an ambitious, 3,000-man French-led intervention aimed at rooting out Islamist militancy in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Chad. France believed it could kill two birds with one stone: root out a dire threat to European security and slow record immigration into the EU. 

The operation’s end goal of returning stability, however, would never come to fruition. Thousands of soldiers and civilians were dead and over 2.5 million displaced by 2021 alone. Barkhane’s death rattle could first be heard early that year after the fiercely francophobic government of Assimi Goita came to power in Mali. On 17 February 2022, France was forced to begin withdrawing troops by local government decree. 

"Without France's military operations in the Sahel there would probably no longer be a Mali ... Burkina Faso, and I'm not sure there would still be Niger" countered French president Emmanuel Macron. Even by then, his troops were on the move to Mali’s neighbor, Niger. 

Bazoum welcomed the development and continued to shower the European power with praise, contrasting the prevailing sentiment of his constituents. But his pro-French stance would later be used against him during his own July 2023 ousting from office. 

Niger and Mali are not isolated cases. In the past three years, coups have rocked several former French colonies, toppling decades-long ruling dynasties and ushering into power a variety of new governments. The outcomes have varied. Niger’s coup precipitated a months-long standoff with the Economic Community of West African States, with many fearing the outbreak of war. In Gabon, by contrast, international condemnation was muted, as the new government was widely seen as a preferable alternative to the autocratic and anti-democratic Bongo family. Most of them, however, have something in common: their fierce rejection of French military presence and diplomatic efforts. 

At first glance, this rejection appears to be a natural reaction to the diplomatic condemnation these governments have received for undermining civilian rule; however, the road leading to widespread anti-French sentiment has not been paved by coup leaders alone. France and other Western powers have been failing to correctly anticipate shifting public opinion in the Sahel for years. 

France, in a last-ditch effort to change course, has committed to downsizing its military presence in the region and restoring historic treasures to former colonies, but many of these efforts have been far too small in scale and hopelessly late. 

As of 2024, French troops remain stationed in the Sahel despite assurances made by President Macron of a hasty withdrawal. Exploitative mining concessions still overwhelmingly favor French corporations at the expense of locals. Rhetoric on reparations and imperialism is still avoided during elections in a bid for domestic voter appeasement. The CFA franc continues to hold West and Central African states economically dependent on France and at the mercy of the French Treasury. Finally, the tacit acceptance of authoritarian governments with pro-French stances has undermined Paris’s narrative commitment to human rights and democracy.

These issues have gained passing conversation in Paris, but for the most part, they fail to draw the necessary attention to be duly addressed. For decades, public figures have reveled in the perception of equality and progressivism as inherently valued cultural traits in French society. France has long been a byword in the West for an undying dedication to egalitarianism and a bastion against inequality. In contrast to their Western counterparts, Paris’s lack of regard for former colonial states has perpetuated a radically different image to West Africans.

In 2008, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy laid out a candid description of how African states are viewed by the French government. In his infamous Dakar address, Sarkozy underscored what he believed to be the tragedy of Africa, the continent's supposed inability “to fully enter into history… They have never really launched themselves into the future [...] There is neither room for human endeavor nor the idea of progress.” But how much are Africans to blame for the centuries of exploitation, interference, and invasion they have dealt with?

It is no understatement to say French policy in West Africa has reached a critical stage. Even if Francafrique had never been a major obstacle to positive relations, France still needs to engage with its former colonies in a manner that far exceeds the transactionalism of today. If this delicate relationship has any hope of being repaired, significant changes must be made to the authority structure of the French bureaucracy and the nation’s attitude towards its former colonies. 

In May 2021, Paris committed itself to a rework of the Washington Consensus, implementing a temporary moratorium on African States’ debt payments and currency allocations. Many hoped that by bolstering the reserve holdings of African countries, France could improve debt transparency rules and rebuild economic bridges. Though the rework hasn’t been entirely successful, it represents a step in the right direction. 

France also has the opportunity to foster a better relationship by reviving enticement efforts for the African diaspora. Recently, immigration from sub-Saharan Africa to France faltered against rival destinations like the United States and China. This decline is fanned by Paris’s decision to raise tuition for all non-EU students. Without following in the lead of other nations by offering fellowship programs and grants, France has prematurely condemned potential connections with the elite, middle class, and civil servants of its former colonies, all of whom are essential to enabling French diplomatic efforts in the area. This short-sighted policy hurts Paris's chances of forming new partnerships and projecting a stronger voice on the continent. With due foresight, these policies should be overturned. But as a growing anti-immigration movement sweeps Europe, this seems increasingly unlikely. 

This unstable dynamic underscores the urgent need for a relationship reassessment on the part of France. While there are numerous avenues for repair, whether through diplomatic channels, economic cooperation, or cultural exchange, such endeavors will demand due attention and a concerted government effort. Reconciliation, however, cannot be imposed upon West Africa lest the mistakes of the past be repeated. It requires a willingness from all parties involved and France’s confrontation with the uncomfortable truth of its imperialist heritage. Only through sustained dialogue and tangible change that addresses the heart of the European nation’s unequal relationship with its former colonies can France hope to mend its fractured image in the Sahel and beyond.