Mali Reminded Macron That France Has Lost Its Hegemony Over West Africa

Mali’s military-led transitional government sharply responded to French President Macron’s smears of their country that he made during his latest tour of the continent. The European leader claimed that they and all those other authorities who enjoy mutually beneficial relations with Russia are “weakened political powers…with no legitimacy.” Macron also accused Malian officials of “systematic violence under the guise of fighting terrorism and targeting the Fulani people.” There was no way that this West African country’s patriotic revolutionary leadership was going to tolerate these disrespectful remarks.

They promptly condemned them as “neocolonial, paternalistic, and condescending”, adding that “no one can love Mali better than Malians” after Macron also earlier called on regional countries to meddle in its affairs on the false pretext of helping its people “express [their] sovereignty”. The military leadership went on to say that his claim about the Fulani people was “hateful and profoundly racist”, which they said is “likely to promote ethnic hatred and undermine co-existence and harmony among Malians.” France isn’t used to be talked back to like this so its representatives are still shocked.

That’s a good thing, too, since it’s about time that they realize that their country has lost its hegemony over West Africa. Mali pioneered the model for others to follow whereby patriotic members of the military establishment secretly plot to overthrow their French-backed puppets at opportune moments in order to liberate their people from Europe’s neocolonial yoke. Upon coming to power, these military leaders proudly hold their own by never letting any of their former colonizer’s insults or meddling attempts go unanswered, which inspires their own people and the rest of the region’s as well.

France is extremely frustrated that the Malian leadership liberated its people last year, hence why it’s now waging Hybrid Warfare against that country. This is being done through its speculative support of the same Al Qaeda-connected terrorist groups that it claimed to fight over the past nine years but which it’s now in the process of rebranding as so-called “extremist/jihadist rebels” in order to precondition the Western public into expecting direct support from their governments to their “cause”. In parallel with that, Macron is directly meddling by trying to provoke divide-and-rule ethnic tensions too.

All of this speaks to how desperate France is to restore its lost influence over the sphere of influence that it refers to as “Françafrique” after Russia’s recent inroads shattered the basis upon which its fading hegemony rested. Moscow prioritizes mutually beneficial comprehensive partnerships without any political strings attached, focusing mostly on security and development in order to stabilize Hybrid War-afflicted or -threatened states like Mali. These “Democratic Security” strategies, which were earlier perfected across the continent, are extremely attractive to a wide range of African countries.

Those struggling to liberate themselves from Western and especially French neo-imperialism like Mali is are most eager to engage with Russia since they’re confident that Moscow can help them achieve their goal, especially after Foreign Minister Lavrov added to President Putin’s global revolutionary manifesto by pledging that his country will help Africa finally complete its decolonization process. This explains why Macron smeared them during his trip to the continent since he lacks a concrete action plan for reversing these unexpected developments.

By responding to his insults in the confident way that they just did, Mali’s military-led transitional government reminded Macron that France has lost its hegemony over West Africa even though it’s expected that Paris will continue pushing back against this trend through Hybrid Warfare as was earlier explained. Nevertheless, the region with Mali at its core can count on Russia’s “Democratic Security” assistance in line with Lavrov’s pledge that Moscow will help them all complete their decolonization process. No matter how long it takes, all of West Africa will be liberated from France’s neocolonialism.