France-Senegal: Witness To A Neo-Colonial Breakup?

-Analysis-

DAKAR — Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Senegal’s new president, built his campaign on the promise of a “break-up” with France that would include a renegotiation of economic and political ties between the two nations. Faye’s election ushers in a period of uncertainty in the relationship between the two countries, against the backdrop of spreading anti-French sentiment across West Africa.

Without waiting for the final results of the presidential election, French President Emmanuel Macron sent Faye his public “best wishes for success” via a tweet, adding that he was “looking forward to working with him”.

These early wishes amounted to a gesture of diplomacy by Macron towards his Senegalese counterpart, whose party, the Pastef, has not spared its criticisms against France in recent years.

Neo-colonialism accusations

The reset of the relationship between Senegal and France is at the heart of the new government’s project. Ousmane Sonko, opposition leader and Faye’s political mentor, has long called for a renegotiation of economic ties between the two countries and denounced France’s “neo-colonialism” in Senegal.

Back in July 2021, he attacked the former colonial power head-on: “Seven centuries of misery, human trafficking, colonization and now neo-colonization, it’s enough. It’s time for France to leave us alone.”

Another point of tension with France is the suspicion that French leaders were interfering with the country’s affairs. Throughout the chaotic electoral process, marked by the delay of the presidential election, some Senegalese accused Paris of protecting President Macky Sall. On social media, some described him as a “puppet” or “servant” of Paris.

Senegal is neither Mali nor is it Niger, where military coups brought to power juntas

Beyond these words and other slogans, some French brands have recently been attacked in the streets of Dakar. In 2021 and 2023, during protests in support of Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, supermarket Auchan stores and TotalEnergies service stations were looted. The images, widely reported in the press and on social media, shocked some French citizens in the Senegalese capital.

An olive branch

But Senegal is neither Mali nor is it Niger, where military coups brought to power juntas that abruptly ended all ties of cooperation with France.

On the evening of his election, Bassirou Diomaye Faye reminded us of this, stating that Senegal would be a “sure and reliable friend and ally” to those countries willing to engage in “virtuous, respectful and mutually productive cooperation.” Though France wasn’t mentioned by name, it clearly appeared to be an olive branch to Macron and other French leaders.

Faye will also have to respond to demands of his supporters. One subject is particularly sensitive: the CFA franc, the West African currency used by Senegal and seven other nations in West Africa. Some activists consider it an “instrument of domination” and a “colonial relic.” It is just one of many elements tying Senegal to France, and vice-versa.

Military and financial cooperation 

According to the French Treasury, France is the leading investor in Senegal and its top trading partner. French exports to Senegal reached 968 million euros in 2022, a 17.8% increase from 2021.

France has 350 military personnel currently based in Dakar.

Senegal is also France’s third-largest customer in sub-Saharan Africa, behind South Africa and the Ivory Coast. It will be up to the new Senegalese leader to rebalance this economic partnership: trade between the two countries added up to 1.06 billion euros in 2022, according to French Customs, and the trade surplus in favor of France stood at 877 million euros.

Regarding the military, France will be closely monitoring Faye’s first decisions: 350 military personnel are currently based in Dakar, notably to train soldiers from countries in the region.

After the coups in Mali and Niger, France was forced to leave its bases and exfiltrate its personnel at the behest of the new authorities. At present, no decision seems to have been taken in this direction in Senegal, even if Paris asserts that “all proposals will be studied.”

The Russian question

French diplomacy will pay particularly close attention to the relationship that the new government chooses to establish with Russia, who doesn’t hide its desire to weaken France in its former African colonies.

While it does not entirely explain the resentment felt by some Senegalese towards the former regional power, Russia’s role in stirring up “anti-French sentiment” is not negligible.

Some public figures, such as Franco-Beninese pan-Africanist Kemi Seba, regularly attacks France and the West on social networks. He famously once burned a 5,000 CFA franc bill in Dakar in 2017. But in more recent years, Seba has been discretely forging ties with Russia — once openly admitting his link to former Wagner militia boss Evgeny Prigozhin.