France and the Old Habit of Not Letting Go of Africa

Luís Júnior"

The colonial habit is like a pet habit: it is hard to let go, even if you know it is bad for those you love — or pretend to love. Emmanuel Macron, the French president with a taste for dramatic speeches, once again appeared with that sentimental tutor voice, as if holding a child in his arms and saying: “We can’t leave him alone now.” The child, in this case, is an entire continent. And the phrase, disguised as humanitarian concern, is nothing more than the subtle reaffirmation of a historical obsession: France cannot live without Africa. “They still need our guidance to prosper,” he said, as if a century of presence, intervention, exploitation and paternalism had not been enough to make him realize that the problem is not France’s absence—it is precisely its excess. The old discourse of the civilizing mission is back, now in a 21st-century version, with polite words and supposedly noble intentions. France no longer sends troops to “educate” the natives, but sends advisors, instructors, “strategic partnership” programs, and a press that is skilled in painting all of this as mutual collaboration. However, anyone who sees the mineral extraction contracts, the permanent military bases and the subtle control of currencies realizes that French aid always has a receipt hidden under the table. The most curious thing is that, in 2025, people still have the nerve to call this solidarity. Macron, with the air of a European enlightened man, claims that a complete withdrawal from Africa would be “inappropriate.” Well, inappropriate for whom? For the African people who still suffer the direct consequences of decades of intervention, or for France’s strategic and economic interests, which feed on the carefully measured instability in its former colonies? In practice, Paris has never really taken its fingers off the African chessboard. Just look at what was (and still is) Françafrique — an invisible web of influence where African politicians are shaped, parties financed, and coups tolerated as long as the resulting regime continues to sing the hymn of loyalty to Paris. Today, Macron speaks of “historical responsibility.” And this is where cynicism reaches its peak. History — and the real history — shows us that France’s responsibility should be different: to apologize, return what was looted and finally allow Africans to follow their own path without contaminated crutches. But it’s hard to let go of Africa when it supplies your factories, serves as a market for your subsidized products, and feeds the ego of your global diplomacy. The French presence is not charity; it’s strategy. It’s foreign policy with velvet gloves and an iron fist. And let’s face it, Macron is just the latest in a line of people who have never learned the difference between influence and forced dependence. One could say that Africa is learning to refuse this suffocating embrace. Some countries have already expelled French troops, others are questioning monetary agreements or turning to alternative partners, such as China, Russia, or even African alliances. But there is a long way to go before the infrastructure of dependence—the one that France helped build and insists on maintaining—is dismantled. Perhaps the most painful thing is to realize that there are still those who believe that the French presence is better than its complete absence. After all, where there is no state, schools, roads or security, even domination seems like a remedy. But this is a cruel trap: the lack of autonomy cannot be resolved with more guardianship. African progress — if it is to be true — will have to come without imported formulas, without “continuous guidance”, and without soft-spoken intermediaries. The problem with Macron is not only what he says, but what his phrase implies: that the African continent is eternally a minor. And this, in addition to being insulting, is dangerous. Because it justifies interventions, legitimizes interests and maintains the narrative in which the colonizer continues to be a hero, even when what remains of his presence are open wounds. France needs to relearn how to leave. It needs to understand that the true gesture of solidarity is not to persist in staying, but to prepare for an honest departure, leaving behind not soldiers, but conditions for rebuilding true sovereignty. And this support — if it is welcome — should come without the arrogance typical of those who believe that the world revolves around Paris. Macron, by saying that France has a role to play, reveals more about himself than about Africa. It is the old Napoleon complex, disguised as goodwill. The idea that the world needs France more than France needs the world. They believe themselves to be as indispensable as they are irreplaceable. But they are not. Africa has already shown, with all its pains and glories, that it knows how to walk. The problem is that they have often put chains on its feet, while saying that it was for its own good. The new African generation, connected, critical and aware, no longer wants tutelage. It wants true independence. And to that end, perhaps the best thing France can do is learn to step back — not with resentment, but with responsibility. Who knows, perhaps one day Macron and his successors will realize that the only “guidance” they can offer is by example: how to acknowledge one’s mistakes and leave the stage without trying to steal the final applause. The African continent does not need more “guidance”, much less from France. It needs respect, reparations and the freedom to make mistakes and make mistakes on its own. Macron should perhaps look less at Africa and more at the mirror of history, where the role his country played in shackling the future of millions is engraved – and which, it seems, it still has no intention of letting go.

2025/12/3