Well, as France's influence and military presence on the African continent has been in steady decline over the past several years, Emmanuel Macron is now on a four-nation tour of the continent
The French president wrapped up his visit in his first stop of the former French colony of Mauritius Friday, where he insisted that France does not want to dominate but to cooperate
He heads to South Africa today, which is also hosting a G20 summit, before then traveling to Gabon and Angola later this week
Here's Charlotte Hughes with the Roundup. Touching down in Mauritius on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron kicked off his five-day Africa tour
Macron announced that he and the Mauritian Prime Minister had decided to bolster security cooperation between their nations
But he was unable to avoid a question about the situation in Madagascar
a neighbouring island where President Andrew Azuel was ousted in a coup in October following youth-led demonstrations
Radzoueln was evacuated by the French army. A move perceived by some Madagascans as interference by the former colonial power in the country's affairs
The French president therefore wanted to clarify Paris' position. We have taken note of the willingness of the new Malagasy authorities to respond to the aspiration of the youth
who have expressed themselves with strength and dignity. France will support this transition with an attitude of openness
supporting the priorities of the Malagasy people, particularly regarding economic development, youth, energy
the fight against corruption and illicit enrichment. The next stop on Macron's trip is Johannesburg
where he will attend the G20 summit. He will then head to Gabon for discussions with President Bryce Oligin-Gema
two years after the coup that puts an end to the Bongo family's long rule. Macron will then travel to Angola for a summit
between the European Union and the African Union. Well for more ysis on the French President Tour of the Continent then we are going to speak now to Emmanuel Higa specialist in international development and negotiations Thank you very much for joining us today Emmanuel Thank you So as you know Macron tour of the continent so to speak
comes as France's influence and even positive views of France, quite frankly, across the continent, especially in former colonies, have declined
Do you agree with that? And if so, where do you think Emmanuel Macron has gone wrong
since he was first elected in 2017? Well, I think there was an undercurrent of dissatisfaction and anger, actually, amongst the youths of many former French colonies, which probably the French government either ignored or probably underestimated
And that kind of blew up when we started seeing this spate of coup d'etats in the Isaias states, Mali first of all, Burkina Faso, then Niger
And we saw the kind of support these military hunters got from the young population
I think what went wrong there was an underestimation by the French government of what the youths felt about French policies and French relations with the former colonies, particularly the leadership of these countries
and, in fact, a material aspect like the use of the French franc
the CFA franc, which many people don't accept anymore. So that's what happened
And I think the message has gone down well with the French government
And Macron is actually trying to pick up the pieces. I think he's doing a good job in doing that
He's made a lot of effort. and trying to also diversify French international relations in Africa going towards other countries that are not francophone
And that is why we see France very active in countries like Nigeria, Ethiopia
Recently there was a big investment forum in France for Ethiopia and European Union
and also other countries like Angola, which we know France is going to, Emmanuel Macron is going to visit during this tour of the southern part of Africa
What's to say by pursuing partnerships with these new nations that you just cited there
Of course, as a reminder, this time he's visiting Mauritius, South Africa, Gabon and Angola
What's to say that he will not make the same mistakes as he attempts to build closer forms of cooperation
in other nations of Africa that he made with France's former colonies
What suggests, you said he's doing a good job as he changes his strategy
What suggests that the strategy is any different? Well, I think now France has understood, first of all
that they had to dismantle their military bases. They've done a good job there
And in these new countries, France has understood that they should place the focus on economic cooperation, scientific cooperation and business
It shouldn't be, you know, this kind of relations as they had with the former French colonies, with a lot of interference of France in leadership issues, for example
and what the African youths felt as a paternalistic cooperation. So that is going to be different in these new countries
particularly the non-French-speaking countries. And I think Macron has learned from the past is going to try to do everything to make this new era of French relations with African countries successful That what I think
We've got just over a minute left, unfortunately, Emmanuel Iga. But I want to ask you concretely
Mr. Macron, French President Macron has said that these new partnerships will be win-win, beneficial for both sides. To take into account some of the concerns of the youth
at least in former French colonies that you mentioned earlier. Is this a credible claim from the French president
And what would that look like? Well, it's going to look like a more balanced negotiation of trade relations, agreements and all that
France is one of the top partners of African countries in terms of commercial relations
And France has learned from the past, particularly in the Sahel states, that one of the things that went wrong was a very unbalanced trade relation with those countries
So they're going to try to balance the trade agreements with African countries
And I think there's going to be a great focus on cultural, scientific relations too, which France, well, initially France was practicing more of that with what they call the France-Afrique group of nations, the former French colonies
And I think now it's going to open up very wide to non-French speaking countries
So we're going to get youths from many countries that are not French speaking coming to France to do their studies, to probably do research and things like that
Dr. Emmanuel Iga, unfortunately, that's all we have time for, although I know we could spend much more time digging into this question
Thank you so very much for coming on the show today. Thank you. Well, that's all we have for you for this edition
Do stay with us, though. I'll be back in just about two minutes with a fresh look at the day's tough news
Thank you