BRICS+ Series: BRICS is Facilitating France's declining Colonial Grip on West Africa
Image: AFP
By 2025, the slow death of Françafrique, France's long-standing political, economic, and military dominance in West and Central Africa has evolved from a continental rejection into a strategic recalibration. Playing part of this transition is the rise of the BRICS bloc, now expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE with partner countries such as Nigeria, Uganda, Thailand, etc, which is rapidly becoming the primary force enabling African nations to break free from Paris' postcolonial shadow. Through financial alternatives, infrastructure investment, and political alignment, BRICS is steadily dismantling the pillars that once propped up French influence in West Africa.
France traditionally exerted influence in the region through elite political networks, military partnerships, and currency control, notably via the CFA franc. However, as France's credibility declines, BRICS nations have moved to fill this void with attractive alternatives. China, India, Russia, and newer BRICS+ members are now offering African countries different options for support, IMF-backed structural adjustment programs, and economic partnerships that are not exclusive.
From Military Expulsion to Security Realignment
France's military withdrawal has revealed the most significant weakness in the Françafrique system. After conducting security operations for years under Operation Barkhane, France was expelled from Mali (2022), Burkina Faso (2023), and Niger (2023). These three nations, now members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), have publicly sought security assistance from Russia. The Wagner Group initially, and later state-sponsored military training initiatives, largely supplanted the French presence. These agreements, despite their contentious nature, marked a turning point: France's monopoly on security in its former colonies was over.
BRICS, via its New Development Bank (NDB), offers West African nations like Senegal and Guinea an alternative to Western-controlled financial institutions by providing funding for infrastructure and energy projects by 2025. The NDB, headquartered in Shanghai, helps countries avoid political conditions often tied to IMF or AFD loans, fostering financial independence.
Challenging the CFA Franc with BRICS Alternatives
The CFA franc, historically representing French economic dominance in 14 African nations, faces diminishing influence due to BRICS-backed financial technologies. The 2024 piloting of BRICS Pay in Guinea and Togo aims to streamline cross-border transactions using local currencies, reducing reliance on SWIFT. Concurrently, BRICS nations are assisting the development of the ECOWAS common currency, the Eco.
Trade Diversification Beyond France
West Africa is experiencing a rapid diversification of its trade partnerships. While China remains the leading trading partner, countries like India, Brazil, and the UAE are significantly expanding their economic influence. This shift is highlighted by India's concessional oil agreements with Senegal, Russia's growing energy ties with Mali, and the UAE's strategic investments in West African ports and logistics. These developments signal a departure from France's historical extractive and monopolistic commercial dominance. Data from the African Development Bank (AfDB) reveals that BRICS nations now account for nearly 35% of West Africa's total trade, a substantial rise from 22% in 2015.
Senegal's Strategic Pivot Toward BRICS
President Faye of Senegal plans a strategic shift, re-evaluating military ties with France, seeking BRICS observer status, and collaborating with India and China on digital infrastructure and solar energy. This emphasis on sovereignty aligns with other BRICS-sympathetic African leaders who see the bloc as a balanced development path.
Redefining Postcolonial Independence in West Africa
France's cultural influence is declining. Its soft power, once strong through language, media, and education, is diminishing as younger generations favor English, Arabic, and local languages. Meanwhile, BRICS-supported media like RT and CGTN are gaining traction in Africa by offering alternative viewpoints, exemplified by CGTN Africa's 2024 French platform challenging France's perceived role as Africa's automatic partner.
France is attempting to rebrand its Africa policy, aiming to be seen as a development partner rather than a neocolonial power. However, these efforts are often undermined by widespread protests, youth activism, and the tangible investments made by BRICS nations. This has created friction in the decline of Françafrique. A 2024 Afrobarometer poll revealed that over 70% of respondents in Francophone West Africa held positive views of BRICS countries, while fewer than 30% trusted France to act in their nation's best interest.
BRICS's emergence is playing one of the major roles in the decline of Françafrique. By offering alternative financing, promoting trade diversification, fostering political solidarity, and encouraging technological cooperation, BRICS is enabling West African countries to redefine their interactions. The long-standing French dominance, once considered insurmountable, is now actively being dismantled. Should this trend persist, BRICS could not only surpass France in West Africa but also fundamentally reshape the meaning of postcolonial independence for the region.
Written by:
Dr Iqbal Survé
Past chairman of the BRICS Business Council and co-chairman of the BRICS Media Forum and the BRNN
*Sesona Mdlokovana
Associate at BRICS+ Consulting Group
African Specialist
** MORE ARTICLES ON OUR WEBSITEhttps://bricscg.com/
** Follow @brics_daily on X/Twitter & @brics_daily on Instagram for daily BRICS+ updates
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Zim activist Duke Maplanka Atterbell criticises South Africa's treatment of foreign nationals
Hope Ntanzi | Published 18 hours ago Zimbabwean activist Duke Maplanka Atterbell says the South African government is complicit in systemic discrimination against foreign nationals and has failed to act in the face of escalating xenophobic violence and medical exclusion. In a formal letter dated 27 July 2025, addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of health, Minister of home affairs and the South African Human Rights Commission , Atterbell accused the state of both silence and active neglect, warning of formal complaints to African and international human rights bodies if urgent action is not taken. "I write this letter as both a concerned African citizen and a representative voice of thousands of foreign nationals, especially Zimbabweans, living in South Africa," Atterbell said. He described a worsening situation where 'foreign nationals are being chased out of hospitals, clinics, and even maternity wards. Others are beaten in the streets, publicly humiliated, or threatened by vigilantes emboldened by government silence.' His letter denounced what he calls a double standard in South Africa's global human rights stance, referencing Pretoria's condemnation of injustice abroad while allegedly turning a blind eye at home. 'How can South Africa claim the mantle of human rights defender abroad, while at home it presides over de facto ethnic cleansing through economic and medical exclusion? This hypocrisy is staggering,' he said. Atterbell warned that if no action is taken, he will escalate the matter by filing complaints with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the South African Human Rights Commission. He also promised to engage in public advocacy and international media exposure. 'This is not governance, it is abandonment,' he wrote. 'This is not the South Africa that the continent stood behind during the anti-apartheid struggle. This is not Ubuntu.' Atterbell's appeal comes amid rising tensions in the country over undocumented migration, especially concerning access to jobs and healthcare. In March 2024, radio personality Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma launched March and March, a non-governmental organisation that actively campaigns against the employment and public healthcare access of undocumented foreign nationals in South Africa. What began in KwaZulu-Natal has now spread nationally, with March and March volunteers stationed at entrances of hospitals including Addington Hospital, RK Khan Hospital, and various Gateway Clinics across the province. The group screens patients before entry, turning away those unable to produce South African ID documents. 'We operate where the government has failed,' the group has said. While critics have labelled it a vigilante operation targeting vulnerable people, the organisation continues to draw strong support from South Africans who believe hospitals are being overrun by foreigners. Responding to Atterbell's letter, Ngobese-Zuma posted on Facebook: ' He is Zimbabwean and writes to OUR President and not HIS… Kshuthi ngampela they believe they are South African‼️ Kshuthi we owe them‼️ Kshuthi we must intensify our fight because mentally these ppl don't think that we are serious.'' (Translated : He is Zimbabwean and writes to OUR President and not HIS… Maybe, seriously, they believe they are South African! Maybe we owe them! Maybe we must intensify our fight because mentally these people don't think that we are serious.'') Atterbell was quick to respond addressing Ngobese-Zuma in defiant terms. 'When Dudula royalty thinks they can intimidate you,' he said, in reference to her association with nationalist movements. 'Jacinta Zinhle MaNgobese Zuma, let's get one thing straight. I am not here to bow before self-appointed foot soldiers of hate. ''I am an enigma, not because I hide, but because I refuse to allow you to spread your bitter view of patriotism unchecked. I am a fearless advocate for human rights, not because it's easy, but because people like you have made silence a weapon. And yes, I am a hater of bigotry — proudly, loudly, and unapologetically.' He continued, accusing Ngobese-Zuma of masking fear as nationalism: 'You walk around with your chest puffed out like you're some gatekeeper of South Africa's soul. But what you really are is a loud emblem of fear, disguised as pride. You lead mobs, I lead with conscience. You shout in mobs, I speak in truth. You weaponise suffering, I document it.' Addressing her direct challenge, Atterbell wrote: 'You asked, 'Who are you?' Let me answer clearly: I am the one your hate cannot reach and your intimidation cannot shake. ''I am the storm you didn't see coming, and the voice you'll wish you hadn't tried to silence. Because while you scream for borders, I fight for bridges. While you hunt the vulnerable, I summon accountability. And while you wave your flag with fury, I carry the Constitution with fire.' 'So no, MaNgobese. I won't be quiet. Not now. Not ever,'' said Atterbell. Atterbell, however, insists that the fight is not against South Africa, but for human dignity. 'If your government fails to act, history, and international law, will remember it not for its silence, but for its complicity.' [email protected] Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. IOL News
Eyewitness News
2 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
More than 40 killed in rebel attack in northeast DR Congo
BUNIA - More than 40 people were killed Sunday in an attack by Allied Democratic Forces rebels in northeastern DR Congo, ending a months-long period of regional calm, the UN mission and Congolese military said. The ADF, which pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2019, raided a Catholic church in the town of Komanda where worshippers were gathered for prayer, residents told AFP by telephone from Bunia, capital of Ituri province. The attack killed 43 people including nine children, according to the UN peacekeeping mission in the country. "These targeted attacks on defenseless civilians, especially in places of worship, are not only revolting but also contrary to all norms of human rights and international humanitarian law," said Vivian van de Perre, deputy chief of the peacekeeping mission. The Congolese army denounced the "large-scale massacre", adding that "around forty civilians were surprised and killed with machetes and several others were seriously injured". It said the ADF had decided to take "revenge on defenseless peaceful populations to spread terror". Local sources had reported an earlier death toll of at least 35. Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, army spokesman in Ituri, did not comment on the toll but confirmed the attack to AFP, saying "the enemy is believed to have been identified among ADF" rebels. The bloodshed comes after months of calm in the region of Ituri, bordering Uganda. The last major attack by the ADF was in February, leaving 23 dead in Mambasa territory. The town of Komanda in Irumu territory is a commercial hub linking three other provinces -- Tshopo, North Kivu, and Maniema. The ADF, originally Ugandan rebels who are predominantly Muslim, have killed thousands of civilians and ramped up looting and killing in northeastern DRC despite the deployment of the Ugandan army alongside Congolese armed forces in the area. At the end of 2021, Kampala and Kinshasa launched a joint military operation against the ADF, dubbed "Shujaa", which has so far been unable to dislodge the group. The Congolese army promised to continue tracking the ADF and called on the population "to remain extra vigilant and report any suspicious presence to the defense and security forces".
Eyewitness News
2 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Europe hopes for 'no surprises' as US weighs force withdrawals
BRUSSELS - After keeping Donald Trump happy with a pledge to up defence spending at NATO's summit, Europe is now bracing for a key decision from the US president on the future of American forces on the continent. Washington is currently conducting a review of its military deployments worldwide -- set to be unveiled in coming months -- and the expectation is it will lead to drawdowns in Europe. That prospect is fraying the nerves of US allies, especially as fears swirl that Russia could look to attack a NATO country within the next few years if the war in Ukraine dies down. However, the alliance is basking in Trump's newfound goodwill following its June summit in The Hague, and his officials are making encouraging noises that Europe will not be left in the lurch. "We've agreed to no surprises and no gaps in the strategic framework of Europe," said Matthew Whitaker, US ambassador to NATO, adding he expected the review to come out in "late summer, early fall". "I have daily conversations with our allies about the process," he said. While successive US governments have mulled scaling back in Europe to focus more on China, Trump has insisted more forcefully than his predecessors that the continent should handle its own defence. "There's every reason to expect a withdrawal from Europe," said Marta Mucznik from the International Crisis Group. "The question is not whether it's going to happen, but how fast." When Trump returned to office in January many felt he was about to blow a hole in the seven-decade-old alliance. But the vibe in NATO circles is now far more upbeat than those desperate days. "There's a sanguine mood, a lot of guesswork, but the early signals are quite positive," one senior European diplomat told AFP, talking as others on condition of anonymity. "Certainly no panic or doom and gloom." 'INEVITABLE' The Pentagon says there are nearly 85,000 US military personnel in Europe -- a number that has fluctuated between 75,000 and 105,000 since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "I think it is inevitable that they pull out some of their forces," a second European diplomat told AFP. "But I don't expect this to be like a dramatic overhaul. I think it's going to be gradual. I think it's going to be based on consultations." Trump's first target is likely to be the troops left over from a surge ordered by his predecessor Joe Biden after Moscow's tanks rolled into Ukraine. Officials say relocating the rump of that 20,000-strong deployment would not hurt NATO's deterrence too much -- but alarm bells would ring if Trump looked to cut too deep into personnel numbers or close key bases. The issue is not just troop numbers -- the US has capabilities such as air defences, long-range missiles and satellite surveillance that allies would struggle to replace in the short-term. "The kinds of defence investments by Europe that are being made coming out of The Hague summit may only be felt in real capability terms over many years," said Ian Lesser from the German Marshall Fund think tank. "So the question of timing really does matter." 'INOPPORTUNE MOMENT' Washington's desire to pull back from Europe may be tempered by Trump now taking a tougher line with Russia -- and Moscow's reluctance to bow to his demands to end the Ukraine war. "It seems an inopportune moment to send signals of weakness and reductions in the American security presence in Europe," Lesser said. He also pointed to Trump's struggles during his first term to pull troops out of Germany -- the potential bill for relocating them along with political resistance in Washington scuppering the plan. While European diplomats are feeling more confident than before about the troop review, they admit nothing can be certain with the mercurial US president. Other issues such as Washington's trade negotiations with the EU could rock transatlantic ties in the meantime and upend the good vibes. "It seems positive for now," said a third European diplomat. "But what if we are all wrong and a force decrease will start in 2026. To be honest, there isn't much to go on at this stage."
