Last week, French President Emanufact Macron visited Madagascar on the East African island, announced various investments and proposed an economic partnership as he seeks to strengthen French influence in Africa during increasing pressure.
After discussing with President Madogascar, President Andrie LaJolina, Macron announced that the French development agency AFD will support the construction of the Borove hydroelectric dam in eastern Madagascar, funded by a loan from the French Ministry of Finance.
The project will be supported by the French government-owned utility EDF, which has acquired a 37.5% stake in the project. EDF will also partner with Madagascar hydroelectric power company CGHV to boost Madagascar's fast-growing renewable energy industry and help ensure wider access to electricity in a country where two-thirds of its population are still facing inadequate electricity.
Other investment and partnership transactions have been announced, including agriculture, education, tourism and strategic minerals.
Macron's trip to Madagascar comes when the French influence on the continent is waning. In 2022, France was forced to withdraw its troops from former colony Mali after the military regime decided to expel them and align them more closely with Russia.
The same is happening in Burkina Faso and Niger, but Chad's French troops face an increase in domestic opposition due to the legacy of the French colonies. As part of the consequences of these political and security ups, French companies in sectors such as banks appear to be reducing their commercial profits in Africa.
Even in East Africa, Britain's move to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has raised several quarters of questions about whether Mayotto and the reunion should be reconsidered, and whether French territorial control should be reconsidered.
France is trying to maintain its relevance
Douglas Yates, a professor of political science at the American Graduate School in Paris and an expert on French-Africa relations, told African businesses that Macron's investment announcement “doesn't really help France's influence.
“France has become so far away, and the competition has become fierce with great Asian powers like India and China,” he says. “France can't adorn enough financial resources to make a real impact. They are poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa and don't throw away money.”
Yates, however, doubts that France will not be forced to pursue British leadership by abandoning the remaining colonial territories. “The Chagos Islands really have connections with the UK and the US. Mayottes have no leverage to put pressure on France at all, especially as the island is completely devastated (by the December Cyclone Chideau),” he explains.
“There are major similarities to the distant colonial islands of the Indian Ocean, but the demographics are different. Chagos has been sparsely populated. Mayottes, part of the Comoran Island chain, experiences far more migrants as they are much more populated and are seeking foot from the EU to gain the right to enter and exit there.
“However, the real problem for Paris is that it will have some kind of impact on the far side of the world, especially as the French Navy is a shadow of its former self.”
