France has retained a quasi-empire in Africa by stealth, and it is under threat like never before.
Retreats from crumbling empires are inevitably characterised by hastily arranged evacuations. Panicked civilians make their way to rickety airport terminals, in the hope of an emergency flight out of the chaos. This was the postcolonial scene in Niamey, the capital of Niger, this week, as hundreds of French nationals joined other EU citizens in scurrying away from the west African nation.
Sections of the military had staged a coup against Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s democratically elected president, just before 3 August, the country’s National Day, when it marked 63 years since gaining nominal independence from France in 1960.
Crowds were chanting “Down with France” as they targeted the country’s embassy last weekend, smashing windows and setting fire to perimeter walls. As Bazoum remained under house arrest, his close allies in Paris feared that the safety of westerners could no longer be guaranteed. A bullish statement from the Élysée Palace vowed that Emmanuel Macron “will not tolerate any attack against France and its interests”. If anybody was hurt, retaliation would come “immediately and uncompromisingly”, said Macron, sounding every inch the imperial master issuing a stark warning to unruly natives causing trouble more than 2,000 miles away.
Despite the illusion of complete withdrawal, France still has a garrison of 1,500 troops in Niger, together with an air force base servicing fighter jets and attack drones. All of this is a forceful reminder that, in spite of a long and bloody period of decolonisation, France has retained a quasi-empire in Africa by stealth, and it is under threat like never before.
The current Niger crisis can thus be linked to former colonial relationships being restructured as Françafrique – a formidable neocolonial nexus across sub-Saharan Africa encompassing economic, political, security and cultural ties and alliances centred on the French language and values.
Charles de Gaulle, France’s most influential postwar president, summed up its importance by saying: “French world power and French power in Africa were inextricably linked and mutually confirming.” While recognising self-determination movements, De Gaulle and subsequent French leaders wanted to hold on to their strategic military bases, as well as energy resources and favourable trade deals, along with financial control…..
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/05/niger-crisis-france-empire-africa-coup-colony
After the truth-shower 