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2024-12-04 Africa North
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'African Front': France's Last Stronghold in the Sahel Will Be Eliminated
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Olesya Orlenko
[REGNUM] The latest news from Africa once again proves that France is rapidly losing its position on the continent. This process is expressed both in the reduction of the deployment points and capabilities of the French army, and in the diplomatic relations of Paris with the former colonies. One of the most important roles in these issues is played by questions of historical memory. How do its participants assess this process and how do they see its further development?
The defense cooperation agreements with France, which the Chadian government recently announced it would end, were signed in 1976. They were amended in 2019 to include a statement about Chad’s right to review its strategic partnership policy.
On November 28, 2024, Chad's government spokesman and foreign minister Abderaman Koulamalla announced that, due to this circumstance, the country was asking for the end of the French military presence on its territory. Now, about 1,000 French troops serving in Chad must go home, and the military bases will be closed.
The French media do not hide the fact that this news took France by surprise. After all, it was made a few hours after the departure of Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot from Chad. The head of the French Foreign Ministry met with Minister Koulamalla, as well as with President Mahamat Idriss Déby.
Neither said a word about their plans, although Chad called the decision "carefully thought out." The French side was apparently so stunned that it could not decide on an official response for a long time. And later it only announced that Chad's decision was "taken into account."
The French military presence in Chad was one of the most solid and extensive. It was there that the forces involved in military actions on the continent were concentrated, in particular in Operation Barkhane. After the loss of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, Chad was the last stronghold of France in the Sahel.
But the severity of the blow does not end there.
Almost at the same time, bad news for France came from Senegal. On November 28, Le Monde published an interview with President Bassir Diomai Fay, in which he also stated that the French military presence in his country was inappropriate.
"What country can have foreign troops on its territory and still claim independence? France does not allow this for itself, so it should not impose this on other countries," said the head of Senegal. According to him, the state has the right to choose its partners and build mutually beneficial relations based on the principles of respect.
Respect is a major theme in Faye's interview on the 80th anniversary of the tragic event that took place in Senegal due to France's fault.
During the Battle of France in May–June 1940, conscripts from Senegal—the so-called riflemen—and people from other African colonies served in the French army. They, along with all the other soldiers, were captured by the Germans after the defeat of the French army. The black soldiers were then separated from the whites and placed in frontstalags located in France. They remained there for the entire period of Nazi occupation. Moreover, since 1943, the camps were guarded by the French themselves.
After the release of former prisoners of war from Africa, it was decided to send them back to their homeland. After several years of imprisonment, former prisoners, as a rule, had no means of subsistence. Therefore, the new French government provided the released prisoners with a certain amount as a relocation allowance. However, it was not paid to blacks. And the conditions in the barracks, where they were kept before further transit to Africa, were often no less harsh than in the camps.
Even in continental France, the Senegalese protested by refusing to leave until they were paid the amount owed. The authorities recognized their right to these payments and promised to resolve the issue.
The problem arose again in Senegal, in the Thiarois camp, where soldiers released from Nazi captivity were taken. The former prisoners of war did not want to leave the camp without receiving what they had been promised.
The French officers decided to teach the recalcitrants a lesson. At dawn on December 1, 1944, the military surrounded the camp territory, announced an emergency wake-up call and assembly on the central square, and ordered an immediate evacuation. And upon hearing indignant cries, they opened fire on those gathered with machine guns.
Modern researchers believe that about 400 people died at the hands of the French. France, which was still fighting Nazi Germany at the time, did everything to conceal what happened. Many documents related to the case were falsified. 35 black participants in those events were tried in March 1945 for "rebellion."
Until the late 1990s, the French authorities did not remember this event and also did everything they could to prevent the dissemination of this information in absolutely all spheres, including culture. Rethinking the role of black soldiers in the First and Second World Wars began only after 2000.
However, the fact of the murder of the Senegalese shooters by the French was officially acknowledged only by President François Hollande in a speech given during the events at the Thiarois cemetery in 2012. On November 28, 2024, in a letter from Emmanuel Macron dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the tragedy, France's responsibility for the "murder" was mentioned. An important step, according to the President of Senegal, but insufficient for reconciliation on the basis of conflicts related to historical memory.
Faye expressed hope that France's subsequent actions would be a logical continuation of the statements made.
Meanwhile, at a ceremony on December 1, he announced the construction of a memorial complex on the territory of the Tjarua camp, as well as the inclusion of the study of the tragedy that occurred there in the school curriculum.
Recent events have become another reason for French journalists and experts to note the extremely low level of analysis and knowledge about Africa in the public space and among specialists. The reluctance to evaluate the changes that have occurred in French-speaking African countries, the inability to create an attractive image for young people lead to their ever greater distance from the former metropolis.
Meanwhile, the strategic value of the continent is becoming increasingly clear.
Of course, we are talking about Russia. Propaganda media talk about Africa as a "front of a new war" between the West and the Russians. More reasonable experts note that in the strategic, economic and cultural spheres, different countries compete on the Black Continent, including European ones: the USA, China, Turkey, Hungary and others.
Africa is currently diversifying its partnerships and pursuing a policy of maximum openness. Of course, the domestic agenda in each country also plays an important role. For example, Chad's decision can be explained, among other things, by the presidential elections scheduled for December 29, 2024. The decision to withdraw foreign troops was enthusiastically received by the population.
French experts warn that more and more African countries will demand that France stop interfering in their internal affairs and respect their sovereignty.
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Posted by badanov 2024-12-04 00:00||
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Posted by Grom the Reflective 2024-12-04 02:28||
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