In certain regions of West Africa, France is being criticized for its purported "strangling grasp" on the economy of the continent. Anti-French sentiment in Mali has migrated to Burkina Faso, where opinion leaders accuse the former colonial power of profiting. This feeling originated in Mali. In point of fact, the economic presence of France is on the decline.
France has exerted influence over the history of over one third of the countries that make up Africa at one point or another.
This has had a significant effect on matters pertaining to culture, the military, and the economy. However, after a century and a half since the country's independence, France is no longer the dominant power.
The downturn started in the early 2000s, and over the course of the last twenty years, France has been dethroned from its position as the major provider and investor on the African continent.
The total value of French exports to Africa has drastically decreased between the years 2000 and 2021, despite the fact that those exports have significantly expanded.
The majority of this can be attributed to the meteoric rise in demand from customers in Africa, which has multiplied by a factor of four, as well as the appearance of new competitors.
Beginning in the early 2000s, China began to nibble away at France's market share, and by 2007, it had surpassed it.
China's current share of the African market is 17 percent, which is three times higher than France's share.
Changing alliances across the African continent
Germany replaced France as the biggest provider from Europe to Africa five years ago. France had previously held that position.
The Netherlands is currently in first place in terms of investment on the African continent. This is partially due to the fact that many multi-national corporations choose to register their headquarters there in order to take advantage of the lower rates of corporate tax there.
A closer inspection of France's statistics on international trade reveals that the majority of France's African trading partners do not originate from the countries of West Africa that speak French.
These nations combine for a market share that is less than one percent of France's overall total.
The countries of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia are France's most important trading partners in Africa, followed by South Africa and Nigeria, both of which speak English.
Falling further down the rankings
Why, then, is there an increase in anti-French sentiment in certain regions of West Africa when the French economic footprint on the continent as a whole is decreasing?
France is remains the leading European exporter to the west African region, despite the fact that the region only accounts for a small portion of France's total exports.
In a broader sense, the claims that France has an excessive amount of control reflect a variety of issues, not all of which are directly tied to the economy.
Technology from China, which is being overlooked by the West, is taking control of cyberspace in Africa.
Macron of France has called for "fairer" finance standards to be implemented for African nations.
According to the findings of the AfricaLeads study, which is carried out on an annual basis by the French employers' group (Cian), France's image continues to suffer from one year to the next.
On the list of most respected non-African countries, France comes in sixth place, a significant distance behind the top three nations, which are the United States of America, Germany, and Canada.
France comes in at number nine on the list of countries that are regarded as being the most beneficial to Africa, slightly behind Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The United States of America, Canada, and Germany remain in the top three positions once again.
Bringing about an improvement in the image shortfall
France is working to improve its standing in international rankings through a variety of political reforms that are currently being implemented.
In the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, there will be a summit to discuss the financing of African economies, and vaccinations will be sent to the continent.
At the most recent Africa-France summit, which took place in Montpellier, the French government targeted small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) as well as influential people in the hopes of recruiting new thought leaders.
In addition, the French government is actively working to enhance commercial connections by organizing monthly meetings between prominent French and African businesspeople.
In the early part of this week, the city of Paris played host to the fourth iteration of the Ambition Africa summit.
This article is based on the original, which was written in French.
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