In Mali, France failed “but it tried”, it is too early to say what the consequences will be for the region after the end of the “Barkhane” mission, while it can already be said that Paris will have to rethink future operations even in a optics of “more discretion and less grandeur”. Jean Pierre Darnis, Professor of Contemporary History at the Luiss University of Rome, comments on the French withdrawal from Mali, which is a failure more for Francois Hollande than for Emmanuel Macron. And he underlines the ‘paradox’ Italy, forced to leave the mission just now that it was beginning to make a true African policy.
“The French could no longer stay, because so many problems had accumulated – Darnis told Adnkronos – They had set a democratization agenda for Mali that the various coups d’etat have canceled, the gap with the political developments of the Country, where action was taken in 2013 to stop the jihadists and prevent the partition of the country. Initially well received, as the mission has lengthened over time, it has brought out problems and contradictions, in the way of dealing with jihadists to intolerance transversal of the population “.
And this, according to the expert, because the mission “failed to solve the country’s endemic social and economic problems: it was naively thought that the strengthening of security would also bring with it greater stability and therefore the conditions for development in a virtuous circle “which, over the years, we have seen was also intended to trigger in other areas of the world. Among other things, Darnis points out, “Macron has never been in love with the French politics followed up to now in Africa, he has always criticized this form of presence, he has another model in mind, that of betting on new generations to create startups and forms innovative entrepreneurship “.
In this context of growing intolerance of the population and the assertion of their sovereignty by the authorities of Bamako, the Russians of Wagner have entered, pursuing objectives that are anything but “idealistic like those which were at the basis of the French operation: Moscow is inserts not for geopolitical reasons, but for a combination of economic and security interests “, to get their hands on the resources of the region with the support of the coup leaders,” then opening the way to China as a financial partner “, explains the French expert .
It’s Italy? “In 2019, in full diplomatic crisis with Paris, Rome had agreed to send a small contingent”, to help the French, but also understanding that it was in its interest, to control movements on the border with Libya and block migratory flows. “The paradox – emphasizes Darnis – is that this withdrawal, waiting to understand what will become of the EU and UN missions in the Sahel, occurs while Italy understood the need for an African policy, especially in a region where there are important economic interests and the presence of NGOs and missionaries is strong “.
And also waiting to understand if the objectives of continuing the fight against terrorism remain and where to relocate part of the forces, whether in Niger or in the Ivory Coast, avoiding that even in these countries there is a rejection of the French and Western presence, one thing is clear, says the Luiss professor: “Until now France also used these operations to maintain its rank of power, now their effectiveness will depend on the degree of discretion: the less they impact on the local population, the better. The opposite of the missions. traditional of the Fifth Republic “.
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