Macron, President of colonial power, decries Russia presence in Africa
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French President Emmanuel Macron criticizes Russia's "influence" in Africa as "bad for the people" from Cameroon.
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French President Emmanuel Macron with Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute on his arrival in Yaounde, Cameroon July 25, 2022 (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron boldly criticized Tuesday Russia's "influence" in Africa, deeming it a "preoccupation" for the peoples of the continent.
Macron, the president of the country that colonized numerous countries in Africa for decades, said Russia's presence in Africa was based on "misinformation, militias, and... complicity with weakened powers."
Unironically, he called France "a friend of Africa", pledging that his country will "do everything so that... this format (of Russian influence) does not spread too much" because he does not believe it to be a good thing. "I especially think it's not good for the people."
Macron's words came in Yaounde, where he was speaking alongside his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya.
Macron landed in Cameroon on Tuesday for a three-leg tour of Africa with the aim of strengthening political ties with its former colonies amid concerns over the food supply around the world in light of the Ukraine war.
Cameroon is a very resource-rich country while also being a major food producer for Central Africa. Macron's delegation is seeking to invest in the country's agricultural sector to continue making money through Africa, the continent that carried Paris to where it is today through imperialism and colonialism.
Many countries in Africa are facing acute food and energy issues due to their dependence on Russian grain and energy, which was heavily impacted by the West's sanctions on Moscow and led to food and energy security crises all over the world.
Though they have avoided taking sides, African nations refused to join the West's stance on Moscow, not condemning the Ukraine war nor sanctioning Russia.
Russian Ambassador to Angola Vladimir Tararov said in May that the West was going so far as to exert pressure on African states that it is even resorting to immoral actions like threats.
The Ambassador explained that Western nations "are just threatening, blackmailing. This blackmail, I emphasize once again, is immoral. The countries [of Africa] are barely standing their ground to resist."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented on Africa's stance toward Ukraine, praising said stance and saying African countries take a balanced and objective position on the situation in Ukraine despite the discriminatory pressure stemming from Washington.
The top diplomat had previously announced that his country's relations with the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as the Asia-Pacific region, West Asia, Asia, Africa, and Latin America were gaining a new impetus.
Anti-French sentiment is rising in France's former West African colonies, where security concerns and political instability, largely exacerbated by Paris' still ongoing intervention, are stoking frustration and swinging public opinion against the West.
In May, the junta in Mali, another former French colony, decided to withdraw all defense treaties with France, citing "flagrant abuses" of national sovereignty.
Paris no longer possesses the legal basis for carrying out military operations in Mali after the West African nation withdrew from defense agreements with France, the Malian government said.
"Where I see hypocrisy too often, especially in the African continent… is in not being able to qualify a war as one and to not recognize who started it, because of diplomatic pressures," the French leader said. "But things have to be said, we live better by doing so."
President Biya, whose government signed a cooperation agreement with Russia in April, said the accord was "normal" and constituted only an act of managing its bilateral relations with the country
