French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent overtures to Africa, analysts say, have high content of economic diplomacy. What stood out in his whirlwind tours to African capitals was his frank efforts to dissect the past and assuage the hurt feelings, which many countries in Africa rue against the colonial masters.
Series of steps including holding the Paris Club meeting- which was attended by a number of heads of states from the content and his very recent visits to countries like Rwanda, appeasement policy towards South Africa, Namibia, Mali, Angola etc had captured worldwide attention. Importantly, Macron’s attendance at the funeral of Idriss Déby, the authoritarian veteran ruler of Chad and a long time French ally and his tacit support to anointing his son, the unelected Mahamat Deby as the Chairman of the Transition Military Council were talked about as growing clout of France in the continent. .
Many factors would have worked in Macron’s favor. He is the youngest leader in the Western hemisphere and has a lot of charm and energy to gravitate towards people with ease. That young age would have come to his rescue to break the bonds with the colonial past and see things from the contemporary standpoint aiming at the future. That generational age advantage would have made Africans feel he (Macron) did not represent the past colonial era of exploitation and genocide that shook the world in 1994 when thousands were killed in the civil war in Rwanda. In his inimitable style, he set the record straight by admitting that France had committed an error and almost apologized for that.
Apart from age, Macron has taken advantage of his experience as a bright investment banker at Rothschild & Co to pull through deals. At the meeting of the Paris Club, his critics say, he did not yield much but gained more by appealing to the IMF to come out with a special drawing rights (SDRs) package to bailout the indebted African economies. That SDRs, even if it is issued, can make available only US$33 billion, whereas the African countries need immediately US$ 100 billion at least to bail them out the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and an whopping US$ 400 billion more to retire their heavy external debts and to streamline their growth process in the coming years.
Critics also discern that the connections that Macron is trying to build into Africa have a strong commercial appeal. France is keen to sell a variety of goods to Africa including defense equipment, aircrafts, manufactured goods and the list goes on. It also wants to be an important stakeholder in exploiting Africa’s vast mineral resources. Several French corporations like Total, Accor, Peugeot, Décathlon, vSociété Générale etc for decades have been operating in different countries in Africa, particularly in oil, gas and other mining sectors.
Indeed, the French companies are beginning to find new growth stories in the continent, particularly in East Africa. For instance, since 2012, the number of French companies operating in Kenya, an East African country, has grown from 30 to 110. Air France made a return to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after a gap of 18 years. Understandably, it is trying to reconnect with the Francophone countries. Rwanda since the 1994 genocide moved away from France towards Britain and the new generation there are more English speaking than French. Macron has a hidden agenda to bring back French as a medium of instruction in the Francophone countries. Also, France, critics say, effectively stalled the introduction of ECO, the new common currency proposed for the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) to gain complete fiscal and monetary independence from France
France is not the only country in the EU that is focusing on Africa. Recently, Germany agreed to pay Namibia Euro 1.1 billion as a compensation for murder of thousands of Herero and Nama people at the start of the 20th century. Similarly, heads of states from Spain, Portugal, Italy etc are visiting their ex colonies to renew the relationship.
The moot question being asked from several quarters is whether such largesse of kindness and recognition of past mistakes would help stalemate China and Russia in spreading their economic interests in the continent. Analysts say, it is difficult since China has entrenched so deep in the African ecosystem, it would be difficult to dethrone them in the immediate future. There is also a growing realization among African countries that whether it is East or West, they come with their own agenda and machinations. Africans are now realizing a safe distance from both blocs is the ideal pathway for them to realize their goal. Does it mean finally Africa is realizing its potential, true strengths and growth pathways?
