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Macron Faces Backlash at Africa Summit 05/13 06:09
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) -- French President Emmanuel Macron is facing backlash
after he interrupted a panel at the Africa Forward Summit in Kenya to demand
silence from the audience.
Macron stormed the stage to rebuke audience members for what he called a
"total lack of respect," accusing them of disrupting speakers during a
presentation by artists and young entrepreneurs. He had earlier described
himself as a "Pan-Africanist" during a news conference.
The summit is meant to showcase France's new policy for the continent -- a
shift from a former colonial power seen as dominating to what Paris describes
as a partnership of equals. On Tuesday, Macron announced a $27 billion
investment into various sectors in Africa, including energy, artificial
intelligence and agriculture.
Videos of Macron's heated intervention on Monday quickly spread across
social media, drawing a mix of mockery, praise and criticism.
Appearing visibly frustrated by the noise in the room, Macron abruptly
walked onto the stage and asked the speaker to hand him the microphone, saying
he would "restore order."
Addressing the audience in English, he criticized attendees for talking over
the speakers and creating disruptions during the session.
Some audience members applauded the intervention, but Macron also drew
criticism over his response.
"Just imagine what would happen if an African leader did the same thing in
America or Europe," said Thierno Mbaye, a history student at a university in
Senegal's capital, Dakar.
"He acted like a schoolteacher scolding children," Mbaye told The Associated
Press.
The intervention also drew criticism in France.
"It's stronger than him: as soon as he sets foot on the African continent,
he can't help but behave like a colonizer," Danile Obono, a lawmaker for the
hard-left party France Unbowed, said in a post on X.
Diplomatic and military setbacks in West Africa
The Africa Forward Summit, which is set to close on Tuesday with a
declaration that is expected to be signed by all 30 heads of state, comes amid
a fallout between France and its former colonies, mostly in West Africa.
France has long maintained a colonial policy of economic, political and
military sway dubbed Franafrique, which included keeping thousands of troops
in the region it controlled.
After years of criticism from leaders and opposition parties in many West
African countries over what they described as a demeaning and heavy-handed
approach, France has withdrawn most of its troops from the region. It completed
the withdrawal of troops from Senegal in July.
Macron had already faced a backlash ahead of the summit for claiming Sunday
at news conference alongside Kenyan President William Ruto that "we are the
true Pan-Africanists."
"We believe that Africa is a continent, and that this continent has an
enormous amount to build," Macron said.
Pan-Africanism refers to an ideology seeking the unity of Africans and the
elimination of colonialism. Given France's colonial history across the
continent, the remark went viral on social media and drew swift backlash.
"Pan Africanism is not a brand, Mr. Macron, neither is it a diplomatic
posture," Farida Nabourema, a Togolese human rights activist, said in an open
letter on Monday.
"It is a political philosophy that said no to everything France spent three
centuries saying yes to: slavery, colonialism and neocolonialism," she added.
Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst at geopolitical risk consultancy Control
Risks, said Macron is trying to distance France from its diplomatic and
military setbacks in West Africa by turning to the east of the continent,
signaling that its strategic priorities now follow where it finds goodwill.
She said Macron's remarks were raising questions about whether France's
renewed engagement with Africa represented a genuine equal partnership or
merely convenient rhetoric.
The French presidency and Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
Paris will be respectful of each African country's independence, Macron said
on Tuesday, adding that "sovereignty and autonomy is shared, and your success
is our success."
'Inauthentic or politically manipulated'
Alioune Tine, founder of the Afrikajom Center think tank, said Macron's
remark might also be a subtle jab at Russia, which has replaced France as the
main security partner in some West African countries.
"When Macron describes himself as the 'true' pan-Africanist, it is also a
subtle response to the pro-Russian pan-Africanist voices online, which French
officials tend to view as inauthentic or politically manipulated," Tine said.
He said relations between Western powers and African states are inherently
paternalistic and France is no exception, but that Macron has shifted policy
away from the colonial legacy through a more informal diplomatic style aimed at
rebuilding trust.
According to an Ipsos survey conducted on behalf of the French Foreign
Ministry in nine African countries ahead of the summit, 74% of respondents said
they have a positive image of France. Support was highest in English-speaking
countries and among respondents under 35.
Macron, who is the first French president born after the colonial era, had
pledged after his first election in 2017 that he would reset French relations
with Africa.
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