Africa: When Africans take their destiny into their own hands

«Africans are turning the page» declared Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a former Member of the European Parliament, reacting to the coup d’état in Gabon, which brought the number of military-led countries in Africa to five. According to this politician in France, the France-Africa relationship, already in search of a reference point, has been dealt another blow.

Could it be a support clearly displayed by the leader of France, in the face of popular discontent led by the military in French-speaking Africa (Burkina-Faso, Mali, Niger, Guinea, Gabon…)?

Things are changing, Africa is changing. The same view is shared by Francis Kpatindé, a lecturer at Science PO Paris. This political scientist believes that this inevitably raises the question of the fate of countries with clan-based regimes similar to Gabon’s, at a time when coups d’état seems to be having a domino effect across the continent.

For many observers, the “rupture” seems inevitable, even if Emmanuel Macron’s France insists on clinging to its paternalistic policy in its «African preserve».

The whole of Africa is in chaos. The security and defence forces, guarantors of the homeland, have assumed their responsibilities before history, to the great satisfaction of the people, who have no hesitation in expressing their joy at the turn of events in their countries.

Hamidou