For his part, head of the institute of strategic studies and research in the Arab world and North Africa – based in Geneva, Hosni Obaidi said that the events that are currently taking place in Niger, in addition to the end of Operation Barkhane as well as the withdrawal of French forces from Mali and Burkina Faso, constitute a rupture in French policy in the Sahel region and in Africa.
There is a major shift in the French policy, Obaidi noted, adding that this change and erosion in the policy of the French influence in Africa is not new, but rather the result of decades-old accumulations.
He explained that the accelerating international events and the emergence of new forces in the region that compete with the French and traditional Western powers, as well as the significant change in the ruling elites in many African countries – especially in the Sahel region, constitute the real reasons for this major shift in French policy in Africa.
The French policy in Africa has been suffering for years, he said, adding that strategic flaws and mistakes began to appear publicly under the ruling of Macron.
He also said that successive French governments have not been able to renew and revive their policy in a way that is compatible with the new African situation, and takes into account the international powers present in the African scene that have the same ambitions and are driven by strategic interests as well.
Obaidi indicated that Niger represents a setback on two levels for France: the first of which is because Niger was the backbone of the new policy that President Macron wants to pursue in the Sahel region, especially after leaving Mali and Burkina Faso. The second is that France’s plan B has already been majorly flawed. He explained that the indicators of this imbalance are France’s inability to anticipate events in Niger, and to read the ability of the military establishment, which had good relations with France as well as the US, to turn against the country’s president.
Obaidi concluded that France’s failed foreign policy in Africa is a collective failure that dates back to decades and accumulations, adding that a real revolution is required in the French cultural system that is directed towards Africa and a complete reformulation of the French approach in order for it to be in conformity with the new African reality. (MORE)
Source: Qatar News Agency