Leiden University Student Repository

Ralitera--Uittenbogaard, Milo (2024)

Legacy of Françafrique? A Discursive Analysis of French Status Construction Relative to Africa

Bachelor thesis | Politicologie (BSc)

Over the past 20 years, successive French Presidents have attempted to break away from the stigma of Françafrique. Sarkozy in 2007, Hollande in 2012, and finally, Macron in 2017 all have articulated, convincing more or less the international community and African counterparts, their respective will to build Franco-African relations based on equality in rupture with neocolonialism. Have they succeeded? What drives current relations between France and African states? This thesis aims to dissect what characterizes the most recent French foreign policy on the African continent, specifically its discursive construction in a context where French influence has been internally and externally challenged. Drawing on French official speeches, this paper argues that despite a shift to a partial solidarity-driven status towards the African states, the fading away of the discursively produced position of a dominant France relative to Africa is still not being entirely eroded.

Françafrique

France-Africa

French Foreign Policy

Paternalism

Solidarity

Author

Ralitera--Uittenbogaard, Milo

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

International Relations & Organizations

Supervisors

Dr. P.A. van Hooft

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en