Senegal PM Sonko to Macron: France destabilises Africa more than it secures it

President Emmanuel Macron said today that the announced departure of French bases would have been negotiated between the African countries that decreed it and France.

He goes on to say that it was out of simple convenience and politeness that France gave these African countries the first chance to make the announcement.

I want to say that, in the case of Senegal, this statement is totally wrong. No discussion or negotiation has taken place to date and the decision taken by Senegal stems from its sole will, as a free, independent and sovereign country.

He finally declares that "no African country would be sovereign today if France had not deployed." Let us note that France has neither the capacity nor the legitimacy to ensure Africa's security and sovereignty.

On the contrary, it has often contributed to destabilising certain African countries such as Libya, with disastrous consequences noted for the stability and security of the Sahel.

This is finally the place to remind President Macron that if African soldiers, sometimes forcibly mobilised, mistreated and ultimately betrayed, had not deployed during the Second World War to defend France, it would, perhaps still be German today.

The writer is Senegal's Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko

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