France's waning influence in coup-hit Africa appears clear while few remember their former colonizer
The era of France’s arm-twisting interventionism in Africa may finally be over
DAKAR, Senegal — When Gabon’s longtime leader was detained in the latest coup in Africa last week, France condemned the takeover but did little to intervene — despite having hundreds of troops in the country. It was a striking break from the past.
African and French observers say that France, under pressure, is finally shedding its postcolonial tradition of “Françafrique” — an unflattering term that smacks of paternalistic influence and quiet deal-making among elites — as its economic and political powers wane and an increasingly self-confident Africa looks elsewhere.
After repeated military interventions in its former colonies in recent decades, the era of France as Africa's “gendarme” may finally be over.
“In the old days of ‘Françafrique,’ this coup would not have happened and, if it did, it would have been quickly reversed,” Peter Pham, a former U.S. envoy for Africa’s Sahel region, said of France’s “muted response” to the coup in Gabon. “Even more than ( the Niger coup in July ), French inaction underscores that the times have changed — Gabon was long the centerpiece of the old cozy postcolonial system.”
In the last three years, a common thread has linked coups in four African countries: All were once French colonies. Some, like Gabon, had continued warm relations. Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family has ruled the small oil-rich country for more than 50 years, last met with with French President Emmanuel Macron in June in Paris.
But a new strain of anti-France sentiment has emerged elsewhere. Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group has cozied up to power brokers in places like Central African Republic. China has eclipsed
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