Douglas Yates Comments on French President Macron's Visit to Africa on France 24

On November 29, Douglas Yates, AGS’s expert on African politics, was invited by the international news TV network France 24 to comment on the political relations between France the African continent on the occasion of French President Emmanuel Macron’s three day official visit to Africa.

Professor Yates said that while he believes President Macron, like former President Hollande, came to the French presidency with no African background or expertise, his claim that France has no African policy is a denial of the deep interests that France continues to have in its former colonies. According to Yates, France does have a strong African policy, with foreign relations, permanent forces stationed in Africa, monetary interests, an intelligence network, a journalistic community, and vast business interests, as well as masonery and various networks inherited from “the dark ages of Françafrique”.

Yates relates the complex relationship that France has had with its former colonies in Africa to the way that it granted them independence, as in that process it created a series of cooperation accords that institutionally tied it to its former colonies, while maintaining its power status in the international system.

Although President Macron claims to have a peaceful and respectful relationship to African heads of State, Yates insisted on the fact that this policy does not seem to address the major issues of security, migration, and human trafficking. “Macron is talking about inviting entrepreneurs and letting athletes come and train for the Olympics, but the real issue, and the reason that there is a summit, is the migrant crisis and the millions of Africans that are fleeing collapsing countries,” he said. “The only way to stop these human flows is to inject tremendous amounts of capital and assistance to the countries so that people can remain, but also to not skate around democracy. Many of these people are flooding out of dictatorships, which the North as funded and continues to fund, particularly in resource-rich countries.”