Across the Sahel, France has been pushed out militarily and politically. Ambassadors expelled, bases closed, and French influence publicly rejected. The power Paris once commanded has evaporated.
By Dr Anderson Kajang, The Independentist contributor
A CONTINENT TURNING AWAY FROM PARIS
Emmanuel Macron’s latest Africa tour is presented as a fresh beginning for France–Africa relations. Yet beneath the diplomatic smiles lies a deeper reality: France is steadily losing Africa, and Macron is attempting to slow the collapse.
Across the Sahel, France has been pushed out militarily and politically. Ambassadors expelled, bases closed, and French influence publicly rejected. The power Paris once commanded has evaporated.
DAMAGE CONTROL, NOT RENEWAL
Macron’s tour is not a sign of confidence or rebirth.
It is damage control. Having lost trust in Francophone Africa, he is now shifting toward English- and Portuguese-speaking nations. But this pivot is not strategy; it is survival. France needs African resources far more than Africa needs France’s involvement.
A MONARCHICAL PRESIDENCY HIDING IN A REPUBLIC
The problem runs deeper than Macron himself.
France’s Fifth Republic, designed by Charles de Gaulle, concentrates extraordinary power in the presidency. The French president controls foreign policy, military operations, and Africa strategy almost single-handedly. It is a political system that behaves like a modern monarchy. And that system has historically depended on Africa’s wealth to sustain France’s global posture.
THE EXTRACTION MODEL THAT NEVER CHANGED
For more than 60 years, France has operated a simple model: Africa’s wealth flows to Paris while Africa’s underdevelopment remains. From Niger’s uranium and Gabon’s oil to Cameroon’s timber and Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa — the extraction has been relentless. In return, African nations received debt, dictatorships, the CFA currency, and political stagnation. Macron’s tour does not break from this history. It quietly reinforces it.
AMBAZONIA: THE UNRESOLVED COLONIAL SHADOW
Ambazonia remains one of the clearest illustrations of France’s long exploitation model. France supported the illegal annexation of Southern Cameroons, backed authoritarian rule in Yaoundé, trained the forces responsible for widespread abuses, and shielded Cameroon diplomatically as Ambazonians suffered. Ambazonians understand the reality: France maintains its influence by exploiting resources and ignoring justice.
AFRICA’S SHIFT AND THE END OF AN ERA
Africa is changing. Francafrique is crumbling. Young citizens are rejecting foreign domination.
Nations are building new alliances outside France’s orbit. Macron’s Africa tour is not the start of a new chapter. It is the fading echo of an empire struggling to remain relevant.
AMBAZONIA’S MESSAGE TO PARIS
Ambazonia’s position is firm: We will not be the hidden colony that fuels France. We will not allow our resources to sustain a declining imperial project. We will not be used to preserve the French presidency’s global image. The old empire is falling.
Africa is moving forward. And Ambazonia is not looking back.
Dr Anderson Kajang
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