The time of friendship is over.

Within a very short period of time, France and the EU have received a series of bad news from Africa.

Following the Chadian government's announcement of an end to military cooperation with France, Senegal followed suit, proposing the closure of the French military base in Senegal. Both Chad and Senegal insisted they did not intend to sever ties with Paris, but merely to maintain a sufficient distance so that any historical ties and connections with France would not overshadow or dominate their relationship. This suggests that the era of close ties between France and its former colonies in Africa is truly over.

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye (left) poses for a photo with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elisee Palace, June 2024. (Archive photo)

Before Chad and Senegal, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso in the same region had already completely severed ties with France and the West, rather than merely isolating themselves from France and the West like Chad and Senegal. The decline of French influence in Africa coincided with the decline of other European countries that had previously colonized Africa, as well as the decline of the EU and the West on the continent.

Both Chad and Senegal want to use their distance from France to create a new, favorable political and foreign policy environment for establishing and promoting cooperation with other partners around the world, the first of whom everyone implicitly understands to be China and Russia. With France, the EU, and the West losing ground in Africa, Russia and China are among the first external partners to reap the greatest benefits.

One of the most decisive reasons why France and the EU as a whole have not been able to maintain friendly relations with former colonies in Africa is the excessive delay and lack of sincerity, substance, and consistency in properly recognizing the historical past and accepting political, legal, and moral responsibility for the crimes committed in those former colonies in the past.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/au-phi-qua-roi-thoi-than-ai-185241204192955645.htm