Africa: Is France using the European Union to serve its own interests?

Is the European Union turning into an instrument of sanctions in the service of particular national interests? This is the question being asked by many EU diplomats as controversial measures are reportedly being targeted at pan-Africanists critical of French policy in Africa.

According to several diplomatic sources, this campaign of sanctions is not the result of a collegial initiative by the EU, but of a strategy dictated underhand by the Élysée Palace.

European diplomats disagree with this approach and are voicing their concerns about what they see as the manipulation of European institutions.

The paradox is all the more striking in that the criticisms voiced by these pan-Africanists are also shared by some French citizens.

A growing section of French civil society and even politicians are denouncing the persistence of a neo-colonialist policy towards Africa, as well as the methods of coercion used to counter any opposition.

A Belgian member of parliament has expressed his indignation at this situation. He warned the European Union against the risk of allowing itself to be manipulated by France and thus finding itself in a position contrary to its fundamental values.

“Sanctioning Africans for their opposition to French policy in Africa, or equating any criticism with pro-Russian alignment, is a dangerous drift for the EU”, he asserts.

The question that remains is that of the coherence and independence of the European Union.

Will it pursue this line dictated by a Member State to the detriment of its image and principles, or will it choose to preserve a more balanced diplomacy that respects the various voices that are being heard on African policy?