credit: EBCNewstwitter /   Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed bid farewell to President Emmanuel Macron March 13, 2019  as he concluded his two-day state visit to Ethiopia.

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

Make no mistake about it, French influence on the African continent has been on the decline over the past 20 years or so. But it was not always this way. France maintained a colonial empire in Africa once upon a time.  By the early 20th century,  “France had expanded its dominions in Central and West Africa to the modern states of Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, Benin, Niger, Chad, the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo. France’s presence also extended to the coastal enclave of Djibouti, the island of Madagascar and other islands on the Indian Ocean”,  worldview.stratfor.com. “Along with the establishment of trade networks and secure access to strategic industrial commodities, France saw itself as a civilizing force in Africa. Paris set out to introduce the French language as well as its customs to its colonies, with varying degrees of success,”  Gradually over the years, Paris has been reducing its presence in Africa in the political, military and humanitarian spheres,  France 24.com observed.  Defence contracts and their secret clauses have been progressively renegotiated. The African continent is also no longer dependent on French funding, once a main source of influence. It now receives significant sums from the European Union, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, while China has become Africa’s biggest trading partner.”

Given, China’s economic might and growing influence in the Continent, the current French President Emmanuel Macron is on a mission to “Make France Great Again In Africa”.

Macron Cements French Economic Ties In First Ever Visit To Kenya  With  $3.3  BILLION  In  DEALS !

credit: twitter.com/UKenyatta /   Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta and France President Emmanuel  Macron meet in Nairobi March 13, 2019.

source:  twitter.com/AUC_MoussaFaki /  African Union (AU) Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, meets with Macron in Ethiopia capital city Addis Ababa to discuss several partnerships between France and the AU Mar. 13, 2019. 

Credit /  PMOEthiopia facebook /  Ethiopia Prime Minister with  France president Macron  in Ethiopia Mar . 13, 2019 .

French President Macron embarked on a four-day “soft power” diplomatic tour across the Horn of Africa last week, stopping off in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya,  to counter China’s well-known influence.

credit: PSCU /   By the end of this year, the PSA Groupe is expected to assemble at least 1,000 vehicles in Kenya, up from the current 480 vehicles/PSCU.

The highlight was Macron’s travel to Kenya where the two countries signed infrastructure deals worth a reported $3.3 BILLION Euros ($3.3 Billion US )  It was the first ever visit by a French head of state to East Africa nation Kenya.  President Kenyatta and Macron on Mar. 13, 2019 unveiled the Peugeot 3008, one of the models locally assembled in Kenya by French vehicle manufacturer, PSA Groupe, in a move geared towards boosting Kenya’s manufacturing sector, according to PSCU.     France and Kenya are also negotiating a contract for 1.6 billion euros ($1.8bn) to improve a highway from Nairobi northwest to Mau.

Macron visit to Djibouti had serious military implications, as the Horn of Africa nation is where China recently build a large military base and invested billions in infrastructure.  Djibouti also It hosts France’s largest naval base in Africa with 1,400 French personnel used to train African troops and monitor the Horn of Africa and Yemen. However, Macron left Djibouti empty handed, as not commercial deals were made with the government. 

 Whether the French president will be able to weaken China’s grip on the African continent remains to be seen. China is a fierce competitor, and the East African only have to look at France’s economic record in its former French-speaking colonies mostly in west Africa, to see its “love”  for Africa.  The countries are mired in poverty mostly due to their use of the  controversial Franc CFA money, many label as France’s Colonial Currency.