First Independent Mena Newspaper
French troops will begin withdrawing from Niger “this week”, Paris announced on Thursday (5 October), while Nigeria’s top diplomat has said that a military intervention by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS was “still on the table”. “We will begin our disengagement operation this week, in good order, safely and in coordination with the Nigerians,” […]
France’s decision to withdraw its ambassador and military forces from Niger, the West’s last key ally in the central Sahel region, amid a wave anti-French sentiment, are yet another blow to Paris’s influence in its former African colonies, laying bare Europe’s weakening influence in the continent, analysts and diplomats say. President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement on […]
French Republicans were the latest in a wave of voices that called on Emmanuel Macron to break away from his Algeria bias in favor of mending ties with Morocco. “What a suffering for all those who love France like us to see our country incapable of defending its interests…I blame the head of state. I […]
During a major foreign policy speech to ambassadors gathered in Paris on Monday (28 August), French President Emmanuel Macron said his country refuses any “paternalism” but also any “weakness” in Africa, as the Sahel faces an “epidemic of putsches” amid a wave of anti-French sentiment. In his speech, Macron called for a strengthening of France’s […]
A group of 94 members of the French parliament sent a letter to President Macron urging him to make a stand in support of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara territory as part of effort to restore an African-French foreign policy in demise. The letter, published on Le Figaro inter alia, noted the erosion of French […]
Influent members of the French political class urged Macron to recognize the Sahara as part of Morocco, following similar moves by the US and Israel. While France has supported Morocco’s autonomy initiative, the administration of President Macron has yet to make its stand clear on the matter amid a global momentum in favor of Morocco’s […]
The recent joint operation between dozens of troops from Niger and France’s legendary Foreign Legion reflects the new approach President Emmanuel Macron wants to use for his country’s mission in West Africa’s deeply troubled Sahel region. The joint operation has been symbolic of France’s new mode of cooperation with Niger, part of a strategy which […]
The European Union has launched an initial mobilization of €50m in Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) critical minerals sector and infrastructure projects on the sidelines of the first-ever Kinshasa Economic Forum. The funding was announced at the inaugural Kinshasa Economic Forum, which brought together representatives from the EU, the DRC and France French President Emmanuel […]
Right after announcing a new French foreign policy in Africa, Emmanuel Macron started an African tour that led him so far to Angola, Gabon and afterwards to DRC, where France was reminded that its patronizing attitude will lead it to lose more friends on the continent. In Kinshasa, President Felix Tshisekedi told Macron in front […]
A few dozen Congolese demonstrated Wednesday in front of the French embassy in Kinshasa to reject the planned visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, reports say. The protesters chanted “Macron assassin” or “Macron get out”, some waving Russian flags. “Rwanda, a country which has been attacking us for more than 25 years, leaving over forty […]