[Global Times correspondent in Algeria Wang Chuanbao]French President Emmanuel Macron concluded his three-day visit to the North African country of Algeria on the 27th. On the visit, Macron sought to mend troubled bilateral relations and reap more energy benefits from the North African energy powerhouse. But during the visit, his remarks about foreign forces conducting “anti-French propaganda” in Africa caused widespread controversy.
According to a report by “Deutsche Welle” on the 27th, Macron warned young people in Algeria and Africa on August 26th not to believe everything they see online that depicts France as an “enemy”. He said many of the posts were either influenced by Islamists or by countries with their own underlying intentions, such as Turkey, Russia and China. “Let’s be clear: many Islamic political activists have an enemy – France. Many networks (activities) that are surreptitiously promoted, whether through Turkey, Russia or China, have an enemy – France.” Macron went on to condemn the “influence, neocolonialism and imperialism” ambitions of these countries in modern Africa.
Macron’s remarks immediately aroused strong dissatisfaction from the countries concerned. “It is very unfortunate that French President Emmanuel Macron made remarks against our country and some other countries during his visit to Algeria,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Birgic said in a written response to reporters’ questions. In the face of his colonial history in Africa, especially Algeria, it is unacceptable to try to get rid of his colonial history by blaming other countries, including us.” He added that Ankara wanted France to reach “a level of maturity. ”, on its colonial history “without blaming other countries.”
When reporting on the attack remarks by many countries condemning Macron, Russian satellite TV said that until the 1960s, France still exercised colonial rule over countries such as North Africa, West Africa and Equatorial Africa. After the above-mentioned regional countries gained independence, Paris was still reluctant to give up completely and continued to interfere in the internal affairs of the region, including the use of military means. The “Arab Jerusalem” criticized France’s colonial thinking and pointed out that Macron’s visit came after long-term tensions with Algeria, which broke out last fall in a profound dispute over the memory of French colonialism. To this end, the ambassador to France was recalled. The Associated Press said that although Macron’s visit was intended to defuse tensions between France and Afghanistan over the past few months, he did not formally apologize for the wrongdoings of the French colonial era. Lin Fengmin, a professor of Arabic at Peking University, told the Global Times reporter on the 28th that Macron’s claim that China manipulates public opinion in Algeria and Africa is simply nonsense. On the contrary, Western countries have used their public opinion advantages to infiltrate Arab and African countries for a long time. The turmoil in Arab countries in recent years has the shadow of Western public opinion manipulation. Duane Doyal, an expert on international issues in Algeria, also told the Global Times reporter that China and Algeria and the two peoples have a profound traditional friendship. The long-term friendly cooperation between the two countries serves the economic and social construction of the two countries. The people have benefited greatly. Some Western countries often make irresponsible remarks about China-Arab cooperation, which is caused by the Cold War mentality and colonial mentality.
Original title: Macron’s visit to Africa rhetoric of China, Turkey, Russia and Turkey’s foreign ministries: hope that France will reach a “mature level”
Responsible editor: Zhou Yumin