French President Emmanuel Macron has a formidable capacity to hang on to power, even though his tenure as head of state has been plagued with turmoil, from never ending Yellow Vests marches to widespread protests over his Pension reform, up until the shocking race riots following the police killing of a teenager in a traffic stop.
When it comes to Foreign Policy, things have been just as rocky, from his fruitless mediation of the conflict in Ukraine up until his snubbing on the BRICS meeting.
But very possibly the worse defeat in this area is the complete debacle of the French influence in West Africa, mainly in the sahel, a semi-arid region between the Sahara desert to the north and the savannas to the south.
Now, in parallel, many former colonies are breaking away from Paris’ sphere of influence, raising the scary specter of war in the region.
As the ECOWAS countries, led by France’s ally Nigeria, vow to intervene to ‘restore democracy’ in Niger, another coup d’état takes place in Gabon – another country seemingly about to sever ties with France.
“Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had seized power on Wednesday and put President Ali Bongo under house arrest, stepping in minutes after the Central African state’s election body announced he had won a third term.
The officers, who said they represented the armed forces, declared on television that the election results were cancelled, borders closed and state institutions dissolved, after a tense vote that was set to extend the Bongo family’s more than half century in power.”
In a move that shocked Western powers, hundreds of people in the streets of the Gabonese capital Libreville celebrated the military’s intervention.
The African Union and of course France, that was Gabon’s former colonial ruler – and which has troops stationed there – condemned the coup.
The turmoil in Gabon follows the latest military coup in Niger, in July. Military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad.
The coup adds uncertainty for France’s presence in the region. With about 350 troops in Gabon, Paris fears it will face the same fate as in Mali and Burkina Faso, where its forces have been expelled after coups.
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