Thread by @DefenseNigeria

Another Africa-France Summit was held on 8 October in Montpellier. Emmanual Macron seeks to rejuvenate relations with Africa. Macron knows he has fallen out of favour with African governments so this time France is taking a different approach. Their target? ..the people.

This summit is held without Heads of State and institutions, it is exclusively devoted to Africa’s and France’s young people, who are every day building the future of France and Africa’s relationship. See how clever it is? There is a concerted effort by Paris to hold unto Africa

Between July 2020 and October 2021 France has hosted a staggering ELEVEN summits that focuses on relations with Africa. The aim is always to discuss ways to forge new ties between and build bridges. Bella Naija is in Paris as we speak.

In the last seven months Emmanual Macron has been all over the place. He has apologized to Rwanda, hosted two Africa summit, hosted another Covid-19 summit, created a Nigeria France economic council, recently apologized to Algeria..and now another summit. But to what end?

Despite so much of francophone Africa under Anglo-Euro hegemony for over a hundred years there was hardly any development. The only development that has happened occured only in the last 20 years by the Chinese and all they did was trade with Africans on an almost equal level..

..they built dams, rail transportation, bridges, hospitals, ports..yes its mot free of charge, and yes China is acting im her own best interest. What is wrong with that? We have been conditioned by the West to expect free handouts because we are a begger continent..

.it has been so wired into the psych of Africans to expect freebies that when China offers strategic partnership on a "nothing goes for nothing" basis we scream exploitation, invasion, debt trap, imperialism. The Chinese never invaded Africa or overthrew a government

You dont see the British getting this entrenched in African affairs by fire by force. What has Paris done for Africa in half a century? They dont build roads, no rail system, no FDI, no alleviation of poverty, Paris engagement with Africa is military-centric. Why?

The British used to call it "the Great Game" the military and political jockeying of great powers. France has played its "Great Game" in western Africa for 150 years. Now it's losing. Islamist extremists are winning.

Other big players, like Russia and above all China, are moving in. Suddenly France is hosting summit after summit with Africa.

The people of francophone Africa are hungry for a change. France, that uses the Euro set up a West African currency, the CFA Franc backed by the French central bank. But each country has to keep half of its currency reserves in the French bank. How sad is that?

Enter Operation Barkhane, the military offensive against Islamists in sub Sahara Africa, was supposed to restore French prestige and influence by covertly funding insurgent groups to carry out arson and then show up with a fire fighting truck as heroes.

France is the oldest democracy in Europe. One would think they would extol that virture in Africa. But rather than reinforce democratic institutions, the operations in West Africa has been capped by not one but SEVEN military coups d'états. Two in Mali the last year alone.

Macron sits with French military forces during a visit with troops who were participating in Operation Barkhane in Niamey, Niger. They could compete with China for economic influence. They could offer trade. Instead Paris only strategy is via military means.

Nuclear power is the largest source of electricity in France. It's the highest percentage in the world. The Uranuim used to generate nuclear power are gotten from Niger. The least developed nation on earth reliant on Nigeria fir electricity generation.

This is a standard guage rail line built by China in Kenya.