France Targets African Students

Talk about impotent rage. With France being shown the door in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and its attempts at a comeback getting frustrated at every turn, it has now resorted to targeting civilians.

France has denied hundreds of students and artists visas with ‘deteriorating security’ being cited as the reason. Many are unconvinced, and point out that Franco-Russian hostilities have not elicited the same response for example.

Below the surface, it points to the uselessness of France as a partner, and the legacy of neocolonialism, as decades of French-West Africa relations have yielded no development. Despite getting independence in the 60s, many students have to go to France due to an absence of top tier facilities at home.

But with the opportunity to develop now that France’s boot is off their necks, the hope is that Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso can now give their people everything they need so they won’t be at the whims of Paris.