AFRICAN MESSAGE

The visit of President Ilham Aliyev to the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria on November 1 was a landmark event in many respects. The head of the Azerbaijani state was invited to Algeria to attend the 31st meeting of the League of Arab States (LAS) in his capacity as chairman-in-office of the Non-Aligned Movement.

A subtle hint

President Aliyev also visited the Museum of Algerian Fighters for Independence located in the capital of Algeria, where he left a note in the memorial book of the museum about the tragedy the Algerian people suffered during the French colonisation. "This museum is exceptional in that it preserves and transmits to future generations the memory of the colonial policy pursued with unprecedented cruelty and ruthlessness against the Algerian people, war crimes and crimes against humanity, the nationwide resistance to the colonial forces and the victory of the struggle for independence won at the cost of the lives of one and half million martyrs. Freedom and independence struggle for liberation from ruthless colonial oppression has been forever engraved in the history of Algeria as a symbol of great courage, unity, steadfastness and determination of the Algerian people," says the note of President Aliyev. He also reminded of the bitter colonial history of the Algerian people during the opening ceremony of the LAS summit.

All these events unfolded amid the statements by the incumbent French President Emmanuel Macron, who accused Azerbaijan of occupying Garabagh and called Armenia a "tolerant and peaceful" country. The blatant distortion of the truth about the events in Garabagh and the accusations of Azerbaijan by the head of state, which has co-chaired the OSCE Minsk Group for decades, has predictably caused indignation in Baku. French authorities and President Macron were protested through diplomatic channels. However, President Aliyev’s reminder of the massacre of one and a half million Algerians proved more effective than all the diplomatic and political protests.

French authorities are trying to forget about the bitter historical legacy of their colonial period. In particular, the extermination of a million and a half Algerians during the war of independence (1954-1962). Although the position of Paris on the continent has rapidly weakened in recent years, France still behaves as an imperialist state in Africa.

French Africa

The French language is an official language in 27 of the 54 African countries. It is spoken by some 100 million people. French-speaking countries are united under the international organisation La Francophonie, through which Paris continues to influence them.

Many of the former French colonies still recognise the special privileges of France. For example, French companies are given priority in the awarding of public contracts. Since 1961, the national reserves of 14 African countries have remained under the control of Paris. France's total annual income from activities in Africa is reported to be about $500 billion.

Although France's national currency has been the euro for more than 20 years, the French franc is still used in Africa. Raw materials for 59 operating French nuclear power plants come from the Republic of Niger and Mali. France has made significant contributions to the nuclear industry since the discovery of uranium deposits in Niger in 1956. Mining and other industries in former colonies can be transferred to other countries only if French companies abandon them. Some 100 large groups of French companies now operate in former African colonies, working with more than 2,100 subcontractors.

Meanwhile, in recent years, France has emerged as a new competitor in Africa. In addition to the UK and Germany, China and Turkey are also trying to get access to the African markets. The largest investors in the continent now include China ($72bn), the US ($31bn), the UAE ($25b) and the UK ($17b).

Chinese market share in Africa increased from 3% in 2000 to 18% in 2017, while France's has fallen from 11% to 5.5% over the same period.

African horizons of Turkey

Another country with a strong interest in Africa is Turkey. Turkish investment in Africa are small but is growing rapidly. By comparison, Turkey's trade turnover with Africa was $100m and $6.2b in 2003 and in 2017, respectively. Whereas in 2003 Turkey's trade turnover with Africa was $5.3 billion, today that figure exceeds $26 billion. And Turkey expects to increase that level to $50 billion.

Unlike India, China and other countries, which are mainly involved in the continent's economic sector, Turkey is gradually getting access to the military, political, cultural, religious, educational and other areas of African states. And this certainly worries the traditional ‘masters’ of Africa.

There are currently 44 Turkish embassies in 44 African countries and TIKA (Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency) offices in 22. There are 175 schools in 26 African states run by the Turkish Education Foundation; 10 African states host the Yunus Emre Institutes, which are considered soft power agents for Ankara's foreign policy. Turkey's flagship airline, Türk Hava Yolları, flies to 61 airports in 40 African countries. In addition, Turkey has military representations in 19 countries, several of which have Turkish military contingents. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has visited 30 African countries in recent years and signed many bilateral cooperation agreements with them.

Why is Macron nervous?

Undoubtedly, the above reasons give rise to serious disagreements on Africa between Turkey and France. Paris, which has long been promoting the French culture in Africa, is now concerned that Ankara, unlike Beijing, is working hard on education and culture on the continent. Also because many of these countries are Muslim and still maintain religious and historical ties with Turkey thanks to the shared Ottoman past. Macron himself acknowledged this too.

In August, he visited Algeria, where he mentioned the initiatives by Turkey, Russia and China against French influence on the African continent. He also accused political Islamist activists of engaging in campaigns hostile to France.

Earlier this year, French MP Dominique Bild criticised the Turkish president's visit to African countries arguing that Erdogan was increasing Ankara's economic and military power in Africa while the EU and France were busy confronting Russia and the Wagner PMC in Mali.

Paris is concerned with Turkey’s re-establishing relations with African countries, once the former territories of France, while criticising the French colonial legacy. Certainly, comparing France's bitter colonial history with that of the Ottoman Caliphate on the continent, the Muslim nations of Africa favour the Ottomans and welcome Turkish initiatives. This is undoubtedly a serious problem for Paris.

The French government's sensitive approach to the Armenian issue also has roots in the Ottoman Empire. The clash between Turkish and French ships off the Libyan coast in 2020 clearly demonstrated the Turkish-French rivalry in Africa. It seems that by defending Armenians in the Caucasus, the French leader is trying to avenge his failures in Africa. 

The unfair interpretation of the Armenian issue, as well as the accusations and threats against Azerbaijan by the French president is a demonstration of France’s imperialist approach to foreign policy issues. The French president's apparent biased stance against Azerbaijan, even though he is perfectly aware of Armenia's role in the Garabagh conflict as an aggressor, can only be explained by his attempts to make force prevail rooted in the minds of the French authorities and Mr. Macron personally. In this sense, he would better learn a lesson from the reminder addressed to him from Algeria by his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.