China News Agency, Montpellier, France, October 9th, title: Macron intends to hold a new type of summit to seek a new breakthrough in the relationship between France and Africa
China News Agency reporter Li Yang
The 2021 France-Africa Summit will be held in Montpellier in southern France on the 8th local time. This summit is called the New France-Africa Summit and has attracted attention from the outside world. French President Macron intends to seek a new breakthrough in relations between France and Africa through this summit.
On October 8, local time, the 2021 France-Africa Summit was held in the southern French city of Montpellier. French President Macron attended the summit and delivered a speech.Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Yang
Where is the new type of summit?
The format and arrangement of this France-Africa summit are quite different from previous summits, and there are at least three innovations and breakthroughs. First of all, the summit did not invite any African leaders to attend, but invited African youth representatives from various fields to attend. Young entrepreneurs, artists and athletes from Africa use the summit platform to discuss political, economic and cultural issues they care about.
Secondly, the summit broke the “French-French boundary” and invited representatives from English-speaking African countries such as South Africa and Kenya to attend the meeting. This is considered to have broken the tradition of French diplomacy and more of Africa as an organic whole. In his speech, Macron especially expressed his thanks in English to the representatives of English-speaking African countries.
Third, the summit established six major sections, namely citizen participation, economic innovation, educational research and development, cultural cooperation, creative industries and sports exchanges. Discussions and interactions of the six major sections were carried out at the same time, and Macron participated in two sections of cultural cooperation and sports exchanges. The sports exchange section joined the live competition, and young athletes from France and Africa showed their skills on the stadium together.
Some analysts believe that many elements of the summit are integrated into Macron’s bold ideas. Young people are one of the most important groups in Africa. Understanding the ideas of young people and strengthening communication and interaction with young people have become an important part of France’s African policy. Macron believes that the new summit will amplify the voices of young Africans, gradually move away from the old model and get rid of the influence of colonial history.
This summit was postponed for a while due to the new crown epidemic, and all the schedules were completed in one day, which seemed a bit hasty. However, it is not easy to hold an offline summit. Participants must wear masks and present a valid health pass to enter.
On October 8, local time, the 2021 France-Africa Summit was held in the southern French city of Montpellier. French President Macron (second from left) attended the summit and took a group photo with youth representatives.Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Yang
What issues are young Africans paying attention to?
During this France-Africa Summit, reporters noticed that when African young people communicate and discuss with Macron, many issues related to the politics and history of Africa and France.
Dix, a young man from Mali, criticized foreign military intervention to overthrow other countries’ regimes. She believes that this has no good results, especially the concrete examples of countries such as Afghanistan and Libya. She also believes that the rampant activities of terrorist organizations in some areas are the result of foreign military intervention to overthrow other countries’ regimes.
France is still carrying out counter-terrorism military operations in the Sahel region of Africa, but French officials are seeking to reduce the size of the French garrison in the Sahel region. Macron said at the summit that he would continue to seek cooperation between France and relevant African countries on counter-terrorism issues. He also agreed that the French army cannot remain in Mali indefinitely.
Another topic that has been discussed more is about the history of French colonialism in Africa. Angya Ngo from Kenya believes that Africans still feel the pain of colonization. In their speeches, many people called on France to face up to the past colonial history.
Macron responded to this by saying that he agreed to recognize history and hoped that the past of French colonialism could be honestly introduced in the school curriculum, so that everyone could face this historical issue together.
At the same time, there are many young African speakers who are concerned about economic issues and call on France to increase investment in Africa and support local businesses.
What thorny issues have not been touched by the summit?
There are some thorny issues in this France-Africa summit that have not been touched. The most prominent problem is that France has tense relations with Algeria, a North African country, and Mali, a West African country. These two African countries are historically French colonies and have many connections with France.
Relations between France and Algeria deteriorated. The French military stated earlier this month that Algeria had banned French military aircraft from entering its airspace. Algeria has previously announced the recall of its ambassador to France.
France has stated that it will reduce the number of visas granted to citizens of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, mainly because the relevant countries refuse to accept illegal immigrants repatriated by France. The Algerian side summoned the French ambassador to Algeria to protest against France’s decision to reduce the number of visas granted to Algerian citizens.
The situation in Mali is more complicated. Malian officials criticized France for preparing to withdraw troops from the country on a large scale, while Russian officials confirmed last month that Mali has requested Russian private military companies to enter the country. Macron announced that France will significantly reduce the deployment of troops in Mali and other places, and instead focus on providing support for the local army’s counter-terrorism operations.
At the same time, it is worth noting that the Algerian Foreign Minister visited Mali recently and talked about the colonial history of France. This vaguely echoes the topics discussed at the summit, and also shows that France’s relations with these two countries may not be restored soon.
It can be seen that the France-Africa summit cannot resolve the complicated and difficult diplomatic and military issues between France and some African countries. In this context, France has a realistic need to seek new breakthroughs from economic and cultural aspects. The extent to which the summit can boost the relationship between France and Africa remains to be tested.
Editor in charge: Yuan Danhua
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