The Economics of French Policy in Africa Under Macron: Is Being Francophone No Longer Important?

Abstract

The article analyzes the state of France's economic relations from 2017 to 2025 under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron with all 54 African countries. The African states to which France assigns the highest priority for economic cooperation are identified by relying on both the officially defined foreign policy interests of the Fifth Republic and also on the results of a k-means cluster analysis of the indicators that Paris employs to assess the effectiveness of cooperation with African countries (foreign trade, foreign direct investment, official development assistance, and the size of the French diaspora). The cluster analysis method results in a list of the countries most suitable for cooperation and also points to a gap in the difference in values of the indicators. Back in November 2017, Macron proclaimed that France would cooperate with all African countries regardless of any common historical and linguistic past. Because they have previously been part of the French zone of influence, it is important to analyze the place of Francophone countries in France’s economic priorities in Africa by examining both the official priorities of the Fifth Republic and the interests of French multinational corporations. Although France cooperates most with Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, the results of analysis indicate that the non-Francophone countries outside the Maghreb increasingly correspond to the official economic interests of the Fifth Republic in the region. Nevertheless, Paris retains its influence on former colonies in sub-Saharan Africa through traditional means even as this group of states is becoming less attractive to the former metropolis in terms of France’s officially proclaimed goals and objectives.