Analysis: Burkina Faso coup a blow to France, as Sahel military mission unravels

[vostok]

PARIS, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The military coup in Burkina Faso deals another heavy blow to France's fading efforts to stabilise the Sahel region, where Islamist militants have grown in strength and people's attitudes towards former colonial masters have hardened.

Successive coups in Mali, Chad and now Burkina Faso have weakened Paris' local alliances, emboldened jihadists who control large swathes of territory and opened the door for Russia to fill the vacuum.


Diplomats warn that spiralling violence could give fresh impetus to migration from West Africa to Europe. It also threatens international mining operations and stability in strategic French partners like Ivory Coast and Senegal.

There have been tactical military successes since France intervened in its former colony Mali in 2013 to prevent militants advancing on the capital Bamako before going on to lead Western efforts to stabilise the region.


It led operations that targeted the top tier leadership of al Qaeda and Islamic State's regional affiliates.

Some analysts say that were France now to pull out, it could lead to trouble.

"This (coup in Burkina Faso) puts the French in a difficult position because they've come down hard in Mali ... The whole regional fight requires them to be working closely with whoever is in charge," said Michael Shurkin, a former CIA officer and director of global programs at 14 North Strategies consultancy.


"If they (the French) were to walk away then this whole thing completely falls apart."

That leaves tough choices for French President Emmanuel Macron, who is expected to seek re-election in a few weeks' time and wants to underline his leadership credentials.

"I would remind you that our priority in the region is to fight against Islamist terrorism," a defiant Macron said in response to the Burkina Faso coup. Whether he succeeds is unclear.
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Analysis: Burkina Faso coup a blow to France, as Sahel military mission unravels

The military coup in Burkina Faso deals another heavy blow to France's fading efforts to stabilise the Sahel region, where Islamist militants have grown in strength and people's attitudes towards former colonial masters have hardened.

www.reuters.com

 

[Piotr]

View attachment 811522
PARIS, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The military coup in Burkina Faso deals another heavy blow to France's fading efforts to stabilise the Sahel region, where Islamist militants have grown in strength and people's attitudes towards former colonial masters have hardened.

France is not interested in stabilising the Sahel region. When region is stable how would France explain it's military presence ? France is biggest reason why Sahel region is not stable.

 

[MH.Yang]

This article does not mention the most important point, French economy depends on the markets and resources of West Africa. Today, when the French have used the euro, West Africans are still using West African francs issued by French banks, and West African govts even deposit foreign exchange reserves in French banks. These countries bring a large amount of capital income to France every year, France's control over these countries is deeply rooted. Any event that shakes the foundation of French colonial rule in West Africa is in line with the demands of all countries in the world against colonialism.

 

[Abid123]

Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power”, former French President Jacques Chirac, March 2008

 

[MH.Yang]

Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power”, former French President Jacques Chirac, March 2008

The lazy French should have gone where they should have gone. The leader of Europe should be Germany.

 

[The SC]

A worst blow yet.. Mali cuts all its diplomatic relations with France..

January 25, 2022

French Brigadier Dies in Mali Blast, Mali Cuts Diplomatic Ties with France

French military base in Gao, Mali, that was attacked on 22 January 2022. A soldier serving in France’s Barkhane operation died in a mortar attack on a military camp in Gao, northern Mali. The French defense ministry said in a statement that the incident occurred on January 22 around 5 p.m. in...

www.defenseworld.net

 

[S.Y.A]

France is the worst of the worst when it comes to colonialism, the British look like angels compared to them.

 

[Eight Pass Charlie]

I'm n comparison to other European countries, Franxe colonial era never ended

 

[FuturePAF]

It was gonna be an unwinnable war unless a significant majority of the locals supported it

 

[_Nabil_]

France is the worst of the worst when it comes to colonialism, the British look like angels compared to them.

They are both evils, one can't say which one is Ibliss and the other Shaytan rajim.

 

[Shotgunner51]

Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power”, former French President Jacques Chirac, March 2008

It's already a negligible country by counts like heavy industries, patent, manufacturing value-add or frontier sciences & techs e.g. AI, semiconductor, computing, new energies. They can't even sell luxury cars to reap lucrative profits like Germany does, colonial legacy in Africa is their lifeline, and that's also why they do everything to sabotage or steal Chinese interests in the region from uranium mines in Niger, Namibia, to oilfields/EPC of Libya.