French President Emmanuel Macron's recent interview, in which he blamed Russia for sparking anti-French sentiments in Africa, is a mere attempt to shift responsibility for the dire situation on the continent, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2020) French President Emmanuel Macron's recent interview, in which he blamed Russia for sparking anti-French sentiments in Africa, is a mere attempt to shift responsibility for the dire situation on the continent, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
In an interview with pan-African Jeune Afrique magazine on November 20, Macron said that the rise of anti-French sentiment in African countries was sparked by Russia and Turkey by speculating on the French colonial history. Macron also alleged that a number of French-language media outlets critical of Paris were corrupted by Moscow and Ankara.
"We are perplexed by the French president's words in the interview with Jeune Afrique on November 20 about Russia allegedly fueling anti-French sentiments in African countries. It took us some time to verify the reliability of these statements. We verified it and see them as an attempt to lay the blame on someone else," Zakharova told reporters.
The diplomat added that France, like other European powers, retained control of African colonies for centuries, which eventually led to resentment expressed by some nations on the continent.
"Later, in the post-colonial period, Paris pursued a policy known as the Francafrique, keeping the newly independent African states within its sphere of influence. It is because of that and not because of some fictional search for enemies, the people of Africa developed a resentment toward France. We have nothing to do with this," Zakharova noted.
France began the colonization of Africa in the 16th century and gained control of almost half of the continent by 1920. The last French colony in Africa Somaliland became a sovereign state in 1977 and is currently known as Djibouti.
