Rwanda, Algeria, restitution of property: Macron gives pledges to Africa - France 24

Paris (AFP)

From France's responsibilities in Rwanda to the restitution of property looted during the colonial era, President Emmanuel Macron is multiplying the symbolic pledges of a desire for normalization with Africa, the outlines of which however remain very uncertain.

The historians' report published on Friday establishing France's "overwhelming responsibilities" in the genocide of the Tutsi in 1994 set a new milestone in this relationship which is intended to be more egalitarian, less paternalistic, far from the colonial heritage and the abuses of the "Françafrique".

"Beyond Rwanda, we believe that this report will also have an impact on our entire relationship with Africa (..) It is an additional brick in this work of refoundation", one underlines to the Elysee Palace in the run-up to the Africa-France summit in July.

The Head of State has also initiated an ambitious memorial work with Algeria, perhaps with a more hypothetical outcome in the face of an Algerian regime which has established its legitimacy for 60 years on the war of independence and the balance of power. with France.

Emmanuel Macron hopes to visit Rwanda and Algeria by the end of his five-year term, in May 2022, to further concretize this renewal initiated by a fiery speech to African youth in Ouagadougou in November 2017.

"Emmanuel Macron's memorial policy strategy is to try to pass the magic slate on the colonial and post-colonial period (..) He tries to overturn the table by choosing two symbols", Rwanda and Algeria, sums up to AFP Antoine Glaser, specialist in "Françafrique".

- France and the "autocrats" -

Another strong act of this strategy, 26 pieces from the "Trésor de Béhanzin" looted at the Abomey Palace in 1892 during the colonial wars must be returned to Benin by the end of the year.

And France should officially soon exit from the management of the CFA Franc - which will become the eco -, one of the last vestiges of "Françafrique" in West Africa.

Gladly invoking his age - at 43, he was born after decolonization - Emmanuel Macron is primarily aimed at African youth.

But for Antoine Glaser and Gilles Yabi, president of the WATHI analysis center, this message paradoxically leaves more an aftertaste of déjà vu than a real impression of renewal.

"The concerns of young people are the difficulty of coming to study or work in France, it is the glass ceiling they encounter in France. It is also the fact that Macron never says a word about African autocrats, the Biya (Cameroon) or Sassou Nguesso (Congo-Brazzaville) which France needs ", notes Antoine Glaser.

- "A courageous act" -

"Being from a new generation, being a young president, does not change anything in the continuity of historical relations between France and African countries", adds Gilles Yabi.

"It is as if we were asking young Africans to consider that because we decree that a page has been turned, it is indeed", continues the researcher, based in Dakar.

By acting in this way, President Macron gives the feeling of wanting at all costs "to maintain France's influence on the continent" in the face of newcomers (China, Russia, Turkey), where young Africans aspire above all to more "autonomy", he says.

Many certainly welcome the report on Rwanda, after more than 25 years of unsaid and denial.

“A courageous act worthy of appreciation,” tweeted African Union (AU) Commission President Moussa Faki Mahamat.

"An important step towards a common understanding of the role of France", welcomed the Rwandan government, in a striking contrast with the cold shower received in Algiers by the report of the historian Benjamin Stora on the memorial questions related to the Algerian war.

However, the road ahead remains tortuous if we are to believe the latest barometer from the French Council of Investors in Africa (CIAN) in which the United States, Germany and Canada are leading the way in terms of image among leaders. African opinion, far ahead of France (7th), which finds itself followed by Turkey.

"The continued erosion of France's image underlines the difficulty in effectively renewing the story of our relationship with Africa", including in terms of economic dynamism, underlines Etienne Giros, deputy chairman of the CIAN.

© 2021 AFP