AFRICA THOUGHT
This space is dedicated predominantly to developments and trends in the various spheres of the African continent which are constantly evolving.
Africa and France: An unfulfilled dream of independence?
France’s former African colonies are celebrating 60 years of independence. But France’s influence remains all-pervasive and critics say it is time that Africans cut the umbilical cord and put an end to Françafrique.
“Sixty years on, francophone countries in Africa still do not have true independence and
freedom from France,” says Nathalie Yamb, adviser to Ivory Coast’s Freedom and Democracy Party (LIDER). Even the content of school textbooks is often still determined by France, she added.
But more importantly, the political system in many of the countries was introduced by France. “Shortly before independence, France decided to abolish the parliamentary system in some countries like Ivory Coast and introduce a presidential regime in which all territories and powers are in the hands of the head of state,” Yamb told DW. The reason being that in this way,” only one person with all the power needs to be manipulated,” she said. Françafrique, as the French influence in the former colonies is called, remains a fact, particularly galling to the young, whose resentment of the former colonial power is growing.
Africa and France: An unfulfilled dream of independence?
In the wake of George Floyd’s killing, there have been calls for defunding police departments and demands for the removal of statues. The issue of reparations for slavery has also resurfaced.
Much of the reparations debate has revolved around whether the United States and the United Kingdom should finally compensate some of their citizens for the economic and social costs of slavery that still linger today.
But to me, there’s never been a more clear-cut case for reparations than that of Haiti. I’m a specialist on colonialism and slavery, and what France did to the Haitian people after the Haitian Revolution is a particularly notorious example of colonial theft.