Why DRC's president reminded Macron to respect Africans

A tense moment was witnessed between President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Felix Tshisekedi and French President Emmanuel Macron during a joint press conference held in Kinshasa on Saturday.

Tshisekedi stated that France and the West should abandon their imperious attitude towards Africa.

"Look at us differently by respecting us, by considering us as true partners and not always with a paternalistic look with the idea of always knowing what is necessary for us," Tshisekedi said, wagging his finger at Macron.

"Francafrique no longer exists. We must establish a policy of equals."

He urged for an equitable relationship between the two nations and pushed France to impose sanctions on Rwanda for the ongoing violent conflict in the country's Goma area.

This happened following French President Emmanuel Macron's policy revision for Africa, which raised mixed reactions. A tour of Gabon, Angola, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo was further arranged for negotiations and talks on the new policy.

Macron’s new policy strategy for Africa

Macron said France would end hosting regular military bases in Africa and will instead establish “academies” to be co-run by France and host countries.

In what appears to be a euphemism for French army bases, these "academies" would host training programs for the security units of the host countries and supply them with essential equipment. 

According to Africa policy analyst Garba Moussa, France is emulating American policy in Africa by being present on the continent but with a “noticeable reduction” of its military personnel.

Moussa thinks Macron's "excursions" to Africa are intended to mend strained connections so he explicitly emphasizes on humanitarian aid and realistic development initiatives while also advancing French soft power. 

As the continent turns into a new theatre of international conflict with the rise of Chinese and Russian influence in the region, anti-French sentiment runs particularly high in several former French colonies in Africa. 

In light of fast-changing dynamics in Africa, Macron said the period of "Francafrique"or French meddling in Africa has come to an end as Paris no longer desires to go back to the old ways.

Amir Nourdine Elbachir, a political and geopolitical analyst, believes Macron was “still talking about plans for Africa without involving Africans.” 

This sudden policy review owes much to the French interest being weakened and threatened in Africa recently, Elbachir stated in a tweet.

For politician Mamadou Dian Balde in Guinea Conakry, “since Macron’s speech in an amphitheatre in Ouagadougou in 2017, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge” and “without the fruits keeping the promise of flowers because instead of strengthening ties with former colonies relations have rather weakened.”

Macron seeks to reshape France’s image as one without any guilt by adopting a new approach of partnerships based on equality with African countries, according to Balde.

“As other rich countries are already doing France must get rid of its superiority complex vis-a-vis Africa. This seems to be the hollow message conveyed in Macron’s speech. One wonders whether the era of Francafrique is over.”

The newspaper Interkinois also questioned the intention behind Macrons' visit to DRC, calling it a “poisoned visit”. It drew attention to the conflict between DRC and Rwanda, claiming that the public in DRC is already convinced of the French president being pro-Rawandan in his outlook.

According to statistics provided by the United Nations, a recent uptick in violence in eastern DRC has resulted in the displacement of more Congolese than at any other point in the 30-year conflict in the area.

The mineral-rich east, which borders Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, is home to more than one hundred armed organizations.

Tshisekedi and a team of UN specialists accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, one of the armed groups that claim to be defending Congolese with Rwandan ancestry. 

The group's continuous attack has compelled hundreds of thousands to evacuate and puts the Goma trade centre in danger.

Rwanda, while agreeing to a regional peace plan that is being supervised by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and current President of Angola, Joao Lourenco, denies supporting the rebels.

Macron during conversations with Angolan President Joo Lourenço, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and others, stated that all had “given clear support” to a ceasefire as envisioned in the schedule that Angola was meditating. 

The EU said it was also releasing some $50  million to be channelled through humanitarian partners for immediate needs such as nutrition, healthcare, shelter and water

While Macron's new African policy aims at a neutral geopolitical stance, DRC president Tshisekedi at the Saturday conference said he “remains doubtful of the good faith of those" who attacked them. 

"There was no reason, I recall, that justified this aggression. Except for economic reasons specific to Rwanda, the instigator of this aggression,” he added.

Drawing on France's part in the genocide against the Tutsis in 1994, Tshisekedi further pushed president Macron to impose sanctions against Rwanda.

As the 1994 genocide was underway, many calls were made to France to intervene and stop the bloodletting. But Paris chose to be a mute spectator. 

Macron visited Rwanda in 2021 to accept some of the blame for enabling the country's genocide perpetrators. The memory of the violence, which eventually moved to eastern DRC, still haunts the area and is at the heart of many of the disputes there.

Macron, however, rebuffed assertions that France was still accountable for the continued violence and called for the government of the DRC to accept accountability for the years of regional violence.

“Since 1994, it’s not the fault of France, forgive me for saying it in such blunt terms, that you have not been capable of restoring sovereignty — neither military, security, or administrative — in your country. This is also a reality,” Macron said Saturday. “We must not look for culprits outside this affair.”

Moving forward, both presidents advocated a change in their relationship and discussed commerce, the mining of vital minerals, and preserving the forests of the DRC. 

Notwithstanding Belgium's colonial rule, France has traditionally maintained close relations with the DRC. It has grown to be the largest French-speaking country in the world and, according to Macron, has taken on a central role in the language.

However, analysts still believe that France hasn't changed its hegemonic approach toward the region but has rather adapted to the new situation.

READ MORE: UN calls for talks between Rwanda, DRC after shooting Congolese fighter jet

What is Francafrique?

The term is used by French intellectuals to refer to the historical relationship between France and its former colonies in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Following World War II Francafrique was interpreted as the policy that France built on neo-colonialism in its economic, diplomatic and military relations with the African countries.

The opinions on this matter are however varied in a post-colonial world, but they are also contradictory, polarizing, and continually changing across time and languages.