POLITICS
AFRICA: Is Paris burning … in Africa?
We are on 9 November 2004 in Abidjan. The troops of Operation Licorne that day shoot at Ivorian rioters during anti-French demonstrations. Antoine Glaser, a journalist specializing in French-speaking Africa, sees it as a symbol of the loss of Africa by France.
Barely nine years after these tragic events, the French Army, still on African soil, this time in Mali, in operations of considerable magnitude and with Africanized titles Serval, then Barkhane, against a new enemy formidable : Islamist armed groups! In all the great cities of the north, the French army was welcomed as liberator, as was formerly the Division Leclerc of Koufra in Paris. The colors tricolor blue, white and red are then the firmament of success.
The respite was short-lived. This summer 2017, from the peninsula of Cape Verde to the valley of the Niger, the symbols of the françafrique are undermined. The most striking of them, with a staging close to the autodafé, was the destruction in public place of a ticket of FCFA by the activist Kemi Seba. The fight against this currency inherited from the colonial era, printed at the Chamalières factory of the Bank of France, became the spearhead of a determined African youth. The French army, too, is pointed out by the Sahelian populations. In the face of growing insecurity and the latest attacks in Ouagadougou and Timbuktu, some, in a low voice, would almost regret the occupation of the jihadists! To complete the misfortune, the emblematic statue of the colonial administrator Faidherbe at Saint-Louis falls. Carried by the French company Eiffage for renovation, this statue is escorted by the police in order to avoid acts of anger – even mystical, against it. A whole symbol!
“It is obviously too early to take stock of Macron’s African policy. But it is a safe bet that France will remain master of the game in its former colonies.”
With the arrival of Emmanuel Macron, France tries to reverse the curve of desamor. It is for this purpose that a presidential council for Africa (CPA) is set up. With the main objective of improving the governance of French African politics, the CPA announces the end of the unofficial intermediaries, the end of vexatious and humiliating speeches, a contrario the recognition of an innovative and conquering Africa.
It is obviously too early to take stock of Macron’s African policy. But it is a safe bet that France will remain master of the game in its former colonies. The levers of the Franchafrique have not disappeared from the institutional architecture despite the arrival of the CPA. At 2 rue Élysée, the quintessential publisher, will always decide the fate of some African heads of state. Special envoys to the Sahel will be responsible for implementing Macron’s security policy in the fight against terrorism and immigration. The future of Francophone Africa will always be defined in Paris and, unilaterally, with major illusionist projects of continental and regional integration, as the “road to freedom and responsibility that will go from the other side of the the Mediterranean and which will cross the whole of Africa “, following the example of the discreet UPM. Macron will not give up on the FCFA issue. After the threat “leave the FCFA if not stop criticizing”, then the talks behind the scenes, Macron announces a modernization of the zone CFA. He will not give up anything, the balance of power is still in favor of France!
The CPA is above all an instrument of seduction towards the African youth. Is not this attempt to please a sword in the water? Is it not already too late as the episodes of this summer suggest? The decision to postpone the constitutional revision aimed at strengthening the process of regionalization in Mali, which is eagerly defended and promoted by Emmanuel Macron, shows that the demonstrations of young Malians have borne fruit. African youth on social networks have already settled the CFFU debate in favor of a single African currency. In all these debates, Macron’s voice does not bear!
So, yes, Antoine Glaser, is right to think that France has lost Africa. This clay-colored colossus is still resisting because of the presence of Islamist groups, the absence of African leaders, the fragility of the socio-economic systems of the African states, and the almost non-existence of an ambitious industrial policy. But this resistance is on the defensive despite some initiatives like the CPA. France, under the era of Macron, will continue to consume itself gently but surely in Africa. Then, against the backdrop of the ruins of the Franchafrique, perhaps it will be time to consider a new place for France in Africa and ultimately to make a real cultural revolution between these two continents!
By Emmanuel Desfourneaux: currently Director-General ICAEP (Institute of Afro-European Culture in Paris) and Founder of this official Unesco NGO.
POLITICS
SENEGAL – Harassment, food tampering, communication ban: the Diomaye Coalition President alert on the conditions of detention of his candidate
The Diomaye Coalition President warns about the conditions of detention of candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The members of the said coalition inform that his visiting days have been changed and he can only receive visits on Tuesdays and Wednesdays within the Court. He is also prohibited from telephone communications. The Diomaye Président coalition denounces this relentlessness against its candidate and holds the regime responsible for any attack on the physical or moral integrity of their candidate.
“Following the official launch of the Diomaye President Coalition and the massive adhesions of opposition leaders, it was expected that the government in power would reinstate the candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye in his rights, particularly in the context of a presidential election of which he is undoubtedly the favourite,” reads a statement.
However, the Coalition announces that the Prison Administration, under the responsibility of the Minister of Justice, has decided to unilaterally and without justification tighten the conditions of detention of candidate Bassirou Diomaye FAYE by:
“A unilateral modification of his visiting days now, the candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye can only receive visits on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and this within the Court itself. A ban on telephone communications under the pretext that the favorite candidate in the presidential election whose campaign begins in two days has conversations whose purpose is political. A continuous harassment of the room of the candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye is now searched at every turn.”
Moreover, she notes a «lack of security measures despite her status as a candidate in the presidential election of February 25, 2024 and multiple alerts on probable alterations of the food served to her. Candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye no longer has breakfast.”
The Diomaye President coalition denounces this relentlessness against its candidate. “We strongly denounce this umpteenth violation of the principle of equality between candidates in the presidential election of February 25, 2024. We call for the immediate release of Bassirou Diomaye Faye to actively participate in the election campaign.”
In any case, she stresses, «the State of Senegal has the responsibility to ensure its protection if it unjustly decides to maintain it in the bonds of detention».
In short, the Diomaye Coalition President indicates that «Macky Sall, Aissata Tall Sall and Amadou Ba will be held responsible for any attack on the physical or moral integrity of the candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye».
Source : PressAfrik
This Friday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese from outside, Ismaila Madior Fall, accompanied by Minister Annette Ndiaye Seck, will inaugurate the “City of the Diaspora” in Bambilor. This project aims to prevent the creation of new slums and encourage the mass production of accessible housing.
According to the Observer, the aim is to boost and diversify the supply of housing for low-income and/or irregular households, while facilitating access to adapted bank financing. With a clear vision of strengthening the construction ecosystem, this initiative demonstrates the commitment of the Senegalese government to its diaspora.
The 100,000 units planned in this project were developed in partnership with the Senegalese government and its collaborators, seeking to meet the specific housing needs and concerns of Senegalese living abroad.
Source: PressAfrik
Social entrepreneur Thione Niang is a candidate in the February 2024 election. In this exclusive interview, he reveals his vision, his projects in particular, “Give One project”, “JeufZone” which includes an agricultural component, training but also women’s empowerment.
It was an opportunity for the social entrepreneur to look back on his beginnings, on the process of returning to his country of origin, Senegal. He addressed the political question: his involvement in the political ring while giving his opinion on the Senegalese political landscape.
African politics is another aspect of this interview. The urgency of the industrialization of the continent, the urgency of helping African youth so that they have the same opportunities for development as other young people in the world, is close to his heart.
On the question of the African school, Thione Niang proposes a redesign of it, starting with a paradigm shift and especially the content of the teachings. According to him, we must return to our fundamentals, namely our own models of identity representations, notably Cheikh Anta Diop or Nkrumah.
Thione Niang, also told us about vision, his vision and not a program, to give each Senegalese what he deserves both in terms of education, health, but also on the development of infrastructure, which, according to him, necessarily passes first and foremost through food self-sufficiency, hence his return to the land for an assertive agricultural progress.
He ended up sending a strong message to all Senegalese.
The rest of the interview on this link:
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