France’s divided government struggles to coordinate Africa policy 

On November 28, just as French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrapped up a diplomatic visit to Chad, the Chadian government abruptly announced it was “terminating the defence cooperation agreement signed with the French Republic.”

On the same day, the President of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, told the French press that “there will soon be no more French soldiers” in his country. 

“Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accommodate the presence of military bases in a sovereign country,” he said.   

Challenges to France’s influence in Africa since the end of the colonial era – a system summed up by the phrase Françafrique – are increasing. Coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have led to military regimes deeply sceptical of French intentions.

But rather than coordinating an effective policy response to these challenges, France is mired in domestic political uncertainty. President Emmanuel Macron’s chosen prime minister, Michel Barnier, was forced from office earlier this month when he lost a vote of no confidence that was prompted by budget disputes. He has been replaced by Francois Bayrou, a 73-year old centrist.

Yet a divided French parliament makes forging effective policy towards Africa much more difficult, experts told African Business –particularly in an era when old assumptions are being challenged. 

Macron’s approach 

Since taking office in 2017, President Macron has sought to recast France’s relationship with Africa for a new era.

Speaking at the University of Ouagadougou early in his first term, he stressed that he was not there to dictate France’s African policy but to recognise Africa as a partner. Part of that effort has been an openness to discuss the painful legacy of colonialism – even if it has fallen short of official apologies in Algeria and elsewhere. 

“I’m from a generation of French people for whom the crimes of European colonisation are undisputed and are part of our history,” he said, adding, “We don’t come to tell Africa what to do.”

Macron’s outreach has also been defined by attempts to boost business ties. During the 2021 Africa-France Summit in Montpellier, Macron pledged significant investments to support African businesses and start-ups, particularly in innovation and entrepreneurship.

In November, Macron was received with great fanfare in Morocco, one of France’s closest partners on the continent. He signed agreements worth up to €10bn in sectors including energy and infrastructure. Deals were penned with French rail manufacturer Alstom and energy giants Engie and TotalEnergies. Macron also pledged support for Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara, and insisted that France would invest in the territory. 

However, while Macron was keen to display France’s relevance to Africa, at home he is no longer the unstoppable political force he once was. France’s parliament is almost equally divided between far-right, left and centre-right blocs, meaning that agreement on Africa policy is hard to come by. 

Alseny Thiam, associate researcher at the Strategic Think Tank on Security in the Sahel and the Institute for European Perspective and Security says that France’s political squabbles are complicating Macron’s efforts to reassert France’s influence. 

“This tension within the French government makes it a quasi-cohabitation,” Thiam says, referring to a term used in France when the president and prime minister come from opposing political camps.

Thiam suggests that this state of affairs has negatively impacted France’s diplomatic relations and domestic policies.

Migration muddle 

This is perhaps most notable in the area of migration.

Foreign minister Barrot has insisted that France’s relationship with Africa “not only about mobility and migration issues.” 

“We are working to rebuild our relations with African countries, incorporating economic, cultural, and civil society cooperation, including with those based in France….While we address irregular migration with our African partners, it is just one of many topics.”

Yet his conservative colleague Bruno Retailleau, who served as interior minister in Barnier’s government, remained laser-focused on the issue of reducing immigration. He has called for policies to curb migration, including deals to reduce migration flows through agreements and partnerships with African origin and transit countries. 

Caroline Roussy, research director at the French Institute of International and Strategic Affairs, says that policy confusion in government has made it harder for Africans to come to France – a major driver of closer political and economic relations. 

“The question of visas, which is controlled by the Ministry of the Interior rather than Foreign Affairs, is a particularly sensitive issue. It risks further straining already tense relations,” she said.

“With another immigration bill likely to take centre stage in January in France, this issue feels all the more pressing. It is profoundly stigmatising and carries the risk of being exploited politically on the African side,” she added.

“In Senegal, for instance, visa appointments have been outsourced to external agencies, leading to unaffordable fees reaching €600 to €800. This undermines not only trust but also the accessibility of France for African students and professionals…The role of cultural diplomacy in this changing landscape remains topical. It continues to forge links.”

New African leaders often lack historical ties with Paris, meaning that forging new people-to-people ties – particularly at a political level – have never been more important, she argues. 

“Today’s African elites – like Mali’s Assimi Goïta or Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré – did not study in France or cultivate relationships with French counterparts. It’s a new phase where France’s historical influence is being challenged, creating a vacuum where other powers can step in,” she explained.

Colonial contradictions

Migration is not the only area in which the administration has struggled to coordinate its messaging. Macron’s attempts to display contrition for France’s colonial legacy in Africa were dealt a blow when Retailleau took to national radio shortly before taking office to provide a more upbeat assessment of empire. 

“Colonisation was, of course, a dark time, but it was also a beautiful time, with helping hands,” he said.

Retailleau had already criticised Macron’s African policies before joining the government, when he blamed the president for failing to deal with rising “anti-French sentiment” in the region, pointing to Morocco’s rejection of French aid during the 2023 earthquakes and the series of military coups in the Ecowas region. 

The appointment of the centrist Bayrou could help to bring more coherence to African policymaking.

But with Barrot and Retailleau retaining their roles as foreign and interior minister respectively, it is by no means guaranteed.