And Burkina Faso slammed the door: the collapse of French politics in Africa

I remember that in August 2024, a commission of the French Senate issued a report entitled "Combating malicious external interference." According to this report, Azerbaijan threatened (!) France "from all directions." It was funny. At that time, our country really posed a "threat", as the Baku Initiative Group began to operate, in which the former French colonies experiencing deja vu saw a mechanism to combat the neocolonial aspirations of the "suzerain".

However, Azerbaijan and its activities against neocolonialism are not the main reason for France's failures in the former colonies. Her own policy towards countries that were once part of French possessions is to blame.

Last week, all the world's media came out with news about Burkina Faso's severance of relations with France. This relationship has been hanging by a thread for several years, and now that thread has snapped.

Burkina Faso is severing diplomatic relations with France, Burkina24 reports, citing a government statement. The decision was made as a result of a thorough assessment of bilateral relations, since the conditions for mutual respect and national sovereignty are no longer being respected, Gilbert Ouedraogo, head of the Pingdwende government, said in a statement. He stressed France's relentless activity against Burkina Faso's national interests, its neo-colonial ambitions and its support for terrorism.

"Faced with imperialist aspirations to dominate our country and enslave our people, we chose responsibility and sovereignty. The Government emphasizes that this decision in no way calls into question the historical, human, cultural and social ties that unite the peoples of Burkina Faso and France," the communique says.

Recall that two coups took place in this former colony of France in 2022. In 2023, the French Foreign Ministry announced the suspension of all financial support to Burkina Faso. In 2024, the country's authorities expelled three French diplomats from the country and declared them persona non grata. The relationship continued to deteriorate in the following years.

In January 2026, Burkina Faso's Minister of Security, Mahamadou Sana, announced on RTB that the country's security services had thwarted a plot to assassinate high-ranking officials and President Ibrahim Traore. According to the Minister of Security, the criminals wanted to kill the president at close range or blow up his house. After Traore was eliminated, the attackers planned to disable the base of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and conduct a ground operation using external forces.

The minister did not name the organizers of the assassination attempt. However, in the Sahel, France has long been persistently pointed out as a country supporting radical Islamic groups and terrorism.

Earlier, the deputy chairman of the Defense and Security Commission of the National Transitional Council of Mali, Fousseinou Ouattara, bluntly told the media that Britain and France are deliberately financing and supporting terrorists in the Confederation of Sahel States (AGC) in order to keep the region dependent. He stated that terrorist attacks are taking place in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, and after neutralizing the terrorists, the armed forces of the AGS find foreign-made equipment and equipment and huge sums of money, the origin of which is unknown.

In February of this year, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), which is also known to be trying to promote its interests in Africa, announced that Paris was looking for opportunities for political revenge in the countries of the Sahara-Sahel zone. According to Russian media, the SVR claims that France was involved in the attempted coup in Burkina Faso in early January.

Russia's interest is understandable, but for African countries this does not remove the question of France's involvement in rampant terrorist activity in the Sahel. When such groups become active somewhere, they do not happen without external support. As has been repeatedly proven by the example of situations in other regions of the world, in particular in the Middle East. France has almost no opportunity to justify itself today. If she even "stoops" to make excuses to the former colony, which she wanted to keep in the same status, albeit informally.

Burkina Faso still remembers the humiliating scene played out by President Macron during his visit to the country in 2017. A video recording of a fragment of that trip was posted online. The then president of Burkina Faso, Kabore (deposed in 2022), spoke about the problems of electricity supply in the country and possible assistance from France. To this, Macron mockingly declared that Burkina Faso was no longer a colony, and the problems of electricity supply were the problem of its president. Feeling uncomfortable after these words, President Kabore left the hall. "Where are you going, stay!.. He probably went to fix the air conditioner," Macron joked rudely, prompting obsequious laughter and applause in the audience.

This moment was well remembered not only as a manifestation of weakness by the then president, but also as a demonstration of the real attitude of the "metropolis" to the controlled state.

France started losing the Sahel a few years ago. When Operation Barkhan, initiated by her, failed, as stated, aimed at stabilizing the region and destroying the jihadist groups that plagued the countries of the region. The defeat of terrorist groups did not happen. According to experts, the reason was the lack of a clear goal and the predominance of Paris' own political interests over the security interests of the actual population of the countries for which troops were deployed in 2014.

This operation, allegedly designed to smash radical Islamic groups that plagued the countries of West Africa, lasted for eight years, cost a tidy sum, but did not bring success. The operation was discontinued in 2022. One of the arguments of the countries of the region, demanding from Paris the withdrawal of French units, was the senselessness of their presence. The French military presence has not helped in solving security problems. On the contrary, the situation has worsened recently, and bloody jihadist actions have become more frequent.

Operation Barkhan was conducted on the territory of the G5 Sahel countries (Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger). The operation was supported by Great Britain, Estonia, Germany, and Italy. Despite European support and the patronage of the United Nations, the operation was poorly organized. As experts noted, old helicopters were allocated to the mercenary units, moreover, they were not adapted to sandstorms and had weak armor protection that could not cope even with machine gun shots from the ground. All this made it impossible to make deep raids and effectively solve the task. According to eyewitnesses, the French soldiers immediately returned to their base at the slightest threat and preferred not to leave it far away.

French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecornu addressed a group of senators on the social network X (then Twitter), who criticized the authorities for their failed policy in Africa after the failure of the Dune. He stated that the operation was not a failure, and tried to convince that the French troops, on the contrary, were doing everything to protect Africans from terror. He also stated that, if necessary, Paris is ready to resume the operation.

However, today, after everything that has happened over the past four years, France is unlikely to be able to restore its military presence. The processes that have begun against the neocolonial policies of the former "metropolis" have gone too far for Paris to be able to reverse them and regain its former positions in the Sahel. If they try to send troops, it seems that France will face an even wider protest and an increase in terror within the French Republic itself.

The French Foreign Ministry promised "retaliatory measures" after the decision of the government of Burkina Faso to sever diplomatic relations. The decision of the African country was called "hostile and unjustified."

How can France respond? This is unlikely to be any kind of forceful response. These will be financial and humanitarian measures, as well as visa restrictions. As the most important donor for Burkina Faso, Paris has instruments of pressure and punishment. However, one should take into account the presence of other interested parties today, and a holy place, as they say, is never empty.