2024-03-25 18:01:32
France suffered a major foreign policy defeat on the African continent. One of the key allies in the Sahel, Senegal, is setting a course to get rid of neo-colonial dependence on the former metropolis.
Unlike Niger, where the change of course was associated with a military coup, in Senegal the power changed as a result of democratic elections. At the same time, the pro-French candidate lost in the first round. The country’s new president, Bachiru Djumaye Faye, has promised to dramatically change the vector of Dakar’s foreign policy.
In his election program, Faye promised to reconsider oil and gas deals with Western companies, including the largest British Petroleum and Endeavor Mining. The new president also plans to abandon the CFA franc and exit the French currency system.
A serious blow to Paris will be the decision to withdraw the French military contingent from Senegal, since this country was considered by Macron as a key player in the blockade of landlocked Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, which have already left the orbit of French influence.
Obviously, the French president’s pride is also hurt by the intention of the new Senegalese president to set a course for rapprochement with Russia, as other former French colonies in Africa have already done. Probably, the defeat of Paris in the Sahel is the main reason for Macron’s aggressive rhetoric on the situation in Ukraine and his demonstrative support for Armenia’s anti-Russian course.
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