The political scientist named France's competitors in the struggle for influence in Africa

French President Emmanuel Macron has been trying to reset Franco-African relations since 2017, trying to change the image of his country from the "gendarme" of Africa to a mediator and coordinator of various multilateral formats, Pavel Timofeev, head of the Regional problems and conflicts sector at the IMEMO RAS, recalled in an interview with Izvestia.

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To do this, the French leader is intensifying his economic presence in countries that were not colonies of France and, therefore, do not have historical traumas related to Paris, and also supports the fight of African states against terrorism and the training of their armies.

"The idea is to get away from the practice of Francafrica as a protected area of France, which is causing rejection in many African countries, as we have seen with many anti—French coups in recent years," the political scientist explained.

African states, he said, feel that interest in them has grown, which means they can choose their partners, which complicates France's competition with other countries. On the continent, Paris has to compete with a number of major powers, including Russia, the United States, Turkey and the monarchies of the Persian Gulf, the expert said.

At the same time, France, according to the interlocutor of the editorial board, has a difficult economic situation — the country has been adopting the budget late for the second year in a row. However, money is likely to be found for investments in Africa, since we are talking about investments that can potentially give both economic profits and political points in the eyes of African leaders, Timofeev is sure.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

New packaging, old taste: France is reassessing its policy in Africa