Niger coup: is this the end of French influence in Africa?
Emmanuel Macron’s wish to reset ties between Paris and West Africa may be ‘too little, too late’

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
France’s historic influence in West Africa could finally be coming to an end after a succession of coups culminating in last week’s military takeover in Niger.
In the past three decades more than three-quarters of the 27 coups in sub-Saharan Africa have occurred in Francophone states, noted the BBC, “leading some commentators to ask whether France – or the legacy of French colonialism – is to blame?”
What did the papers say?
“First, there was Mali; then came Burkina Faso,” said UnHerd columnist Thomas Fazi. And now “it is the turn of Niger to play the protagonist… in the epic saga that is the anti-Western revolt sweeping across the Sahel”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Much of the anger driving the succession of recent coups has been directed towards the countries’ former colonial master: France. More than any other imperial power, it has “continued to exercise a huge influence over its former outposts, replacing outright colonial rule with more subtle forms of neocolonial control”, said Fazi.
So the current crisis in Niger can “be linked to former colonial relationships being restructured as Françafrique – a formidable neocolonial nexus across sub-Saharan Africa encompassing economic, political, security and cultural ties and alliances centred on the French language and values”, said The Guardian.
A colonial form of governance designed to extract valuable resources through the use of repression is not unique to the French. But what is “distinctive” about its role in Africa, said the BBC, is “the extent to which it continued to engage – its critics would say meddle – in the politics and economics of its former territories after independence”.
Successive French leaders dating back to Charles de Gaulle in the 1960s have viewed western Africa as very much within their rightful sphere of influence. They have used the French language, aid, security assistance and most effectively currency – through the African Financial Community (CFA) franc which is pegged to the euro – to maintain influence in the region.
France’s big problem now, said The Guardian, is that “Nigeriens – like so many Africans – are rejecting Françafrique with as much fervour as their forebears came to reject the official French Empire”. In this sense, “France’s traditional dominance is disintegrating”, added the paper.
What next?
Aware of the growing opposition to French influence, President Emmanuel Macron has promised to “reset” ties between Paris and Africa, going so far as to declare earlier this year that the era of Françafrique “is over”.
“The trouble is that this rethink may, in essence, be too little too late,” said The Economist.
According to The New York Times, “France has become a scapegoat of sorts in a region buckling under the forces of poverty, climate change and surging Islamist militancy”.
At the same time the French have been unable to find a “credible way to counter the post-colonial narrative of occupation and exploitation that is efficiently used against it”, said The Economist. It is, for example, the only former colonial power to maintain major permanent military bases on the continent, unlike Belgium, Britain and Portugal.
In Niger, despite the illusion of complete withdrawal, France still maintains a garrison of 1,500 troops, together with an air force base servicing fighter jets and attack drones.
“All of this is a forceful reminder,” said The Guardian, “that in spite of a long and bloody period of decolonisation, France has retained a quasi-empire in Africa by stealth, and it is under threat like never before.”
By contrast, China, Russia and Turkey have been quietly building economic influence in the region by lending, investing or securing contracts in West Africa. While France accounts for less than 5% of Africa’s international trade – down from 10% in 2000 – China is now the chief source of imports to the region. Other European countries and the US have increasingly taken up the French mantle as the “Gendarme of Africa”, training counter-terrorism forces in the Sahel.
All this “feeds into fears that we are on the verge of a new scramble for Africa”, said Fazi, “with Russia, China and the West vying for influence over this immensely resource-rich, young continent predicted to be the next frontier of growth”.
The reset in relations may have been a “crucial part of Macron’s foreign policy”, reported Al Jazeera, but it is the former colonies that are now “the ones deciding what ties they want with Paris”.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
The pros and cons of EU expansion
Pros and cons The bloc has come under pressure to begin admitting new members by 2030
By Richard Windsor Published
-
Would Keir Starmer get a better Brexit deal?
Today's big question Labour leader must overcome fact that European capitals 'consider Brexit yesterday's problem'
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Cleverly China visit: can UK pull off tricky diplomatic balancing act?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary’s trip is first ‘real test’ of Rishi Sunak’s new strategy towards Beijing
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is Arizona next on the Trump indictment trend?
Today's Big Question Investigators are ramping up another probe into the former president's inner circle and their "fake elector" efforts in the Grand Canyon State
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Can Brics replace the G7 in new world order?
Today's Big Question China and Russia pushing for expanded bloc to rival West politically as India and Brazil pursue economic interests
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biden turns on Beijing: is China really a ‘ticking time bomb’?
Today's Big Question US president warned that ‘when bad folks have problems, they do bad things’
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
The heir to Blair: does former Labour leader hold the answers for Keir Starmer?
Today's Big Question Recent ‘cosy chat’ seen as political redemption for the former PM and political positioning for the man tipped to be the next one
By Arion McNicoll Published
-
Did Saudi summit move the dial on Ukraine-Russia peace deal?
Today's Big Question Presence of China ‘signals possible shifts’ from Moscow’s most important ally
By The Week Staff Published