How Russia overshadows France in Africa

France’s hitherto undisputed influence in Africa is being increasingly overshadowed by Russia’s growing influence across the continent. 

Over the decades, Africa has been largely a French exclusive sphere of influence under the longstanding tacit understanding amongst the major world powers to share most of the rest of the world as spheres of influence among themselves.

While other major powers exercise influence over their respective spheres quite tactfully, France exercises it in Africa, in a quite domineering way, thereby overshadowing countries like South Africa and Nigeria; and indeed rendering them bereft of continental influence befitting their weight in the continent. 

Besides, French activities in the continent have always been enmeshed in one controversy or another. From particularly blatant exploitation to subversive activities against many governments including its supposed allies, France is largely viewed in the continent as a bully too strong to be tamed by its victims, and too influential to be challenged by its fellow superpowers whose interests are, after all, never affected anyway. Besides, France generally effectively represents Western interests in the continent. 

French forces are spread across many countries in the continent supposedly on a mission to fight terrorism and other forms of organised crime. There are also many French-linked “humanitarian organisations” ostensibly providing humanitarian services to the displaced.

However, there has always been a quite credible suspicion of their involvement in the perpetuation of insecurity and instability amid which they perpetuate the systematic plunder of the countries’ mineral resources. 

Likewise, many incidents of government overthrow and/or assassination of politicians opposed to French activities in their countries have been linked to Paris. Many instances of the rise and reign of governments and political elites committed to doing the French biddings at the expense of their respective countries have been equally linked to successive French governments. 

France’s purported pursuit of terrorists in many African countries has always been the pretext on which it justifies the continued stay and deployment of its forces and intelligence units. 

Meanwhile, the international community continues to turn a blind eye to the largely credible allegations against French activities in those countries whose individual and collective diplomatic weight, if any, remains too insignificant to arouse the conscience of the international community, let alone prompt appropriate actions. Their growing tendency of turning to Russia is, therefore, quite understandable. 

Russia has what it takes in terms of diplomatic weight and of course, military and intelligence capabilities to not only tackle terrorist groups but also expose French activities in the region. The affected governments capitalise on the persistent tensions between Russia, on the one hand, and Euro-American countries, on the other, to involve the former in the situation to introduce a balance to the power equation. 

The ongoing face-off between France and Mali rages in that context. The authorities in Mali advised the French ambassador in Bamako to leave. Anti-France sentiment has equally been rising in the country and beyond amid growing suspicion over French activities and their suspected impact on security and stability across the region. 

Anyway, realistically speaking, the French presence in those countries is too established to be significantly undermined in the foreseeable future by the advent of Russia on the scene. After all, apparently for tactical reasons, Russia is still reluctant to officially confirm its growing involvement there. Also, though its military-related pacts with African countries are growing, it still largely operates through its private military company,  Wagner whose mercenaries are increasingly active in Africa and beyond on behalf of Moscow. 

Interestingly, Wagner mercenaries operate also in Nigeria, according to a Euronews report, which suggests that they are out there since at least last year assisting the Nigerian authorities in the fight against Boko-Haram and ISWAP terrorists in the North-East. 

In any case, just like France and other major powers, Russia is equally only pursuing its own economic and strategic interests in its growing involvement in different countries around the world. In its growing African adventure, in particular, it simply wants to dislodge France in the plunder of the countries’ resources and to indeed outmanoeuvre its influence in the region. On their part, the governments partnering with it aren’t unaware of that fact; they only consider Russia a lesser evil that may not end up as treacherous and exploitative as France anyway. 

Meanwhile, France and Euro-American countries are increasingly worried, while Russia remains hell-bent on further expansion at their expense. The struggle can be better understood when viewed against the backdrop of the raging struggle for influence between the two parties. 

The affected African countries cannot afford to lose either party; they should act smartly enough to secure the maximum benefit at the minimum cost from both.