Libreville – French President Emmanuel Macron launched, Thursday, in the Gabonese capital, a historic speech in which he stripped France of its imperial dimension and its influence that lasted for more than a century in Africa, and presented, in return, another image of a new France, the size of its president’s dreams, that does not want the front ranks and is satisfied with the secondary role.

Macron said that the era of “African France” had ended, and that France had now become a “neutral interlocutor” on the continent, which suggests that France is regaining the free fall that led former empires to lose their influence, such as Britain’s decision to withdraw from its protectorates in Aden, southern Arabia, the Gulf, and eastern Suez after If it became unable to protect it, a withdrawal that clipped the wings of Britain and opened the way for the hegemony of the United States.

The reasons that led Britain to withdraw from its protectorates are the same that are now leading France to withdraw from its old positions of influence and turn to itself, which is the inability to fulfill the defensive, financial and diplomatic obligations towards the regions it occupied for decades, and the emergence of new generations in those regions and protectorates looking for liberation.

Macron’s decision to break with historical France can also be compared to the last perestroika of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (1990 and 1991), which led to the dismantling of the Soviet Union under the pretext of restructuring.

The French President’s speech Thursday comes as a declaration of the end of the era of French hegemony over Africa, and it contains a hidden call to the countries of the continent to search for other allies that can secure for them what France has become unable or unwilling to continue with, which is security protection in the face of jihadist groups.

“This era of African France has ended, and sometimes I have a feeling that mentalities do not develop at the same pace as we do when I read, hear and see that France is still attributed to intentions that it does not have, that it no longer has,” Macron said in front of the French community in Gabon.

“It also seems that she is still expected (to take) positions that she refuses to take and I fully support that,” he added. In Gabon, as elsewhere, France is a neutral interlocutor who speaks to everyone and whose role is not to interfere in internal political disputes.

He does not know exactly what the French president wants from African countries, as there are indications that Paris is no longer able to play the role of countries protecting the security of Africa, and that these countries must act to protect themselves, and this means encouraging them to search for alternatives such as China and Russia, which is what It raises the question why France should insist on the Russian role in Africa and on the Wagner Group if it itself has abandoned its traditional mission to protect its vital field.

Macron sent a message to those calling for his country to intervene in their favor to establish their influence in power that “France is neutral,” meaning that it will not in the future overthrow this and install that as it was accused before, and this is an admission that the “new France” is no longer able to manage crises. The continent, influencing it and blocking the rise of rulers loyal to Washington or Moscow, and this may be understood as encouraging the new rulers in Africa to bet on those who support them away from Paris, which is what the rulers of Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso understood early on.

France threw its historical influence in Africa by storm when it decided to withdraw from the war against jihadist groups and asked the local armies to take over the task without any adequate training. This strategy based on escaping from the front ranks would push the interests of Paris to the back rows in light of the great competition with the three countries.

This path was expressed by one of Macron’s advisors when he said, “We are emerging from a stage in which France was forced to be in the front ranks,” speaking of a new stage now in which Paris stands “in the back line,” that is, assistance with plans and military expertise in the war without any role. Direct field for the French forces.

The French confusion opened the way for foreign interventions to fill the void, from Russia to the United States, especially since Macron’s government is unable to give the Africans what China offers financially, technologically, and Russia in security.

The war on terrorism has contributed to showing the difference of interests between Washington and Paris, especially with France’s failure to end the “rebellion” in Mali and the rapid expansion of the activities of extremist organizations to include other countries in more bloody and violent forms, which showed France in the image of the helpless state and gave legitimacy to a greater role in front of The United States, which is presenting its special forces in Africa, AFRICOM, as a magic solution to the war on terrorism, and is moving to build long-term understandings and agreements that secure the activity of this unit.

Observers say that Macron’s words reflect the reality of the French retreat internationally. There are many files in which Paris was unable to influence, starting with North Africa, which can be described as its backyard, passing through the west and center of the continent, to other files in which France’s influence has become no more than mere statements.

In North Africa, Paris does not seem to have cards of influence other than its cultural and linguistic influence and the presence of a class of intellectuals and politicians who advocate for the survival of the French language despite the expansion of the circle of those calling for its replacement with English in education, administration and foreign correspondence.

Macron’s confused diplomacy was unable to choose which side to stand in, would it be with Morocco or Algeria?

Morocco says that the measure of any partnership with it is based on recognizing its approach to resolving the Sahara crisis, an approach whose list of supporters has expanded in Europe from Spain, Germany and Austria, as well as the weighty American support. As for Algeria, it opens with Macron the battles of history and wants an apology and compensation, which Macron evades, and it is not inconceivable that the policy of disavowing the past will lead the French president to a public apology.

The closer Macron gets, the farther the Algerian regime becomes, which understands that the current French leadership is weak, and therefore this regime does not stop pressing in an effort to show that it is strong in the face of Paris.

And because the French president could not make up his mind, his words at the Elysee Palace before his African tour were confused, as he said that he would continue to “move forward” to strengthen France’s relationship with Algeria and Morocco, away from the current “controversy”, in reference to the criticism directed at his country from Morocco and Algeria. .

“We will move forward,” Macron said during a press conference on his strategy in Africa. The stage is not the best, but this matter will not stop me,” criticizing those who “are trying to continue their adventures” and have “an interest in not reaching” a reconciliation with Algeria.

To get out of this ambiguous situation, Macron was betting on the Algerian president to get out of the dilemma, as he said, “I know that I can count on the friendship and commitment of President (Algerian Abdelmadjid) Tebboune. We will make progress with him as well.”

Algeria recalled its ambassador to France for “consultations” on February 8 to protest the “illegal entry” through Tunisia of Franco-Algerian activist Amira Bouraoui.
He added, “There are always people trying to take advantage of circumstances, such as the wiretapping scandals in the European Parliament that were exposed by the press.”

The state of confusion in the French position on Algeria and Morocco was the same as in the position on Libya, where Paris focused on the strategy of moving from behind to implement its agenda by betting on an Arab alliance supporting the army commander, Khalifa Haftar, but with the change of reality and the expansion of the circle of Arab-regional reconciliations to include the Libyan file, it was found Paris itself infiltrated, and became content with observation.

The strategy of moving from behind also led France to lose its influence in other files such as Lebanon, which represented a cultural and historical site of influence for France. Saudi Arabia must secure generous financial support to renew what was ruined by the political class, and make the Lebanese aware that France is the one who secured the arrival of this support.

It is not known whether the new strategy, which is based on withdrawing from the field and leaving it to international competitors, will solve France’s problems and bring it partnerships based on parity, so that it will win economically without any security and strategic commitment to partners, especially in Africa

Sourced from: alarab-co-uk