France Neo-colonial Empire Is Falling Apart Before Our Eyes In Africa
France's biggest issue in recent years has likely been the military takeover situation in Niger since the country has already lost Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso through military coups. France's system of economic exploitation, military intervention, and semi-feudal links with African governments is steadily dissolving. Sadly, France was unable to accept the breakup and developed such exploitative methods to preserve control over its former colonies and its global influence.
An article by this writer titled "Would France Be Free From Terrorism Without Colonizing Many Islamic Countries?," was published on April 24, 2018, by ModernGhana. The Republic of Benin, Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of Chad, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, and the Republic of Togo, were among the nations that France controlled in Sub-Saharan Africa, while Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia were in North Africa.
“France is a terrorist state,” a placard proclaims in a demonstration against France in Bamako, Mali.
Since the majority of the nations France conquered were Islamic nations, Islam overtook Catholicism as the second most popular religion in France, accounting for 5 to 10 percent of the country's population. Therefore, we need to comprehend why terrorism has affected France so frequently. It is no secret that France looted its colonies in Africa relentlessly from the 17th century until the end of the 1960s, leaving the people of the continent to suffer from famine and poverty.
Yet, little has changed today, since France is still exploitative and its leaders continue to have enslaving policies and contracts that require their colonies in Africa to deposit 85% of their cash reserves with the National Bank of France. How is it conceivable that these African nations would profit from such colossal greed?
The same world leaders who complain about the abuse and violation of human rights themselves do such acts. Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, recently denounced Russia's actions in Ukraine, although his nation is acting the worst toward its colonial subjects in Africa. However, I hold African leaders accountable for how France mistreats them. They would be less vulnerable to exploitation from their old colonial ruler if they could find solutions to their issues without depending on France.
According to Jacques Chirac, France's 22nd president, "Without Africa, France would have fallen to the level of third-world countries." He is right, but we must also consider what advantages the former colonists received from their colonial rulers. African nations receive nothing from their colonial masters other than constant exploitation, yet France can't stand it when those nations that have had enough are now determined to free themselves from the colonial yokes that are still a burden to them.
Even though many European nations lost their colonies after the African continent attained independence, France continues to use legal and administrative ploys to steal the unaccounted wealth of Africans, pushing their citizens into poverty, while their president, Emmanuel Macron, accuses Vladimir Putin of Russia of being barbaric and violating human rights. France and the USA are where we need to seek the true human rights violators and abusers.
France sought to destroy its former colonies with greed and poor policies that only benefited them, just as Belgium, which couldn't bear the agony of losing Congo and started a brutal destruction of the nation, both physically and medically, while causing extreme poverty in Africa. Imagine that France emptied the coffers and took everything from the Republic of Guinea's statehouse, including the furniture, and left Ahmed Sekou Touré, the newly elected president, empty-handed and penniless.
The reality is that France's continued rule over its former colonies is not benefiting the people; rather, it has had a negative influence on them so badly that they no longer have any power to modify laws or regulations in their nations. The ongoing toppling of democracy in Africa is only the start of the problem. More coups would occur for the French-colonized African nations to liberate themselves from this physical and mental servitude because they wanted their freedom.
Belgian‑Ghanaian journalist Joel Savage writes the column “A Mixture of Periodicals.” A former member of the Flemish Journalists Association, he has contributed to the Weekly Spectator, Ghanaian Times, Daily Graphic and The Mirror.
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