French President Emmanuel Macron affirmed on Thursday that the era of his country’s interference in Africa was “well over” as he began a four-nation tour of the continent to renew frayed ties.
Macron indicated that France harbored no desire to return to past policies of interfering in Africa ahead of an environment summit in Gabon, the first leg of his trip.
“The age of Francafrique is well over,” the leader said in remarks to the French community in the capital Libreville.
He referred to France’s post-colonization strategy of supporting authoritarian leaders to defend its interests.
“Sometimes I get the feeling that mindsets haven’t moved along as much as we have, when I read, hear, and see people ascribing intentions to France that it doesn’t have.”
In his remarks on Thursday, the president insisted the planned reorganization was “neither a withdrawal nor disengagement”, defining it as adapting to the needs of partners.
Based on official figures, more than 3,000 French soldiers are deployed in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Gabon, and Djibouti. Another 3,000 are in the Sahel region of West Africa, including in Niger and Chad.
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