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Rabat – President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (RDC), Felix Tshisekedi, has urged Europe, particularly France to change its “patronizing” attitude towards African countries.
“The way of seeing things when they happen in Africa must change in our relations with France in particular but also with the West in General,” the president said on Thursday.
He made his remarks during a press conference with France President Emmanuel Macron, who was on a Central Africa visit.
Addressing Macron during the conference, Tshisekedi stressed the importance of mutual respect between EU and African countries.
The president urged France to look at African countries differently and to consider them “as partners and not with a paternalistic look,” Tshisekedi stressed.
The statements made by DRC’s president were warmly received and applauded by journalists and officials attending the press conference.
Tshisekedi’s remarks have been echoed by several countries, refusing France’s attitude and neo-colonialism approach.
In August 2022, the Malian government urged President Macron to abandon his “neocolonial and patronizing attitudes” against Mali, stressing that the French President and France need to “understand that no one can love Mali better than Malians.”
The French government has been also mired in controversy for its hostile approach towards Morocco. Many political observers believe that France is responsible for the hostile resolution that the European Parliament on January 19 against Morocco.
The observers accused parties close to Macron of pushing the adoption of the resolution, which accused Morocco of “intimidating” and “repressing” journalists and activists.
Many political analysts in Morocco and France blamed French diplomacy for being behind the ongoing rifts between the French government and African countries.
Foreign policy analyst Samir Bennis said: “In the neo-colonial imagination of the French ruling class, it is inconceivable that Paris would treat Rabat as an equal.”
France, however, continues to downgrade the rift between Rabat and Paris. On February 27, Macron claimed that ties between the two countries are “Freidnly and will remain so.”
An authorized source from the Moroccan government discredited his claims, stressing that “relations are neither friendly nor good anymore neither between the two governments nor between the Royal Palace and the Elysee.”
DRC-Rwanda rift
The Congolese president also expressed concerns about security challenges hampering his country’s development, stressing that the electoral process is threatened by war aggression.
He also renewed his country’s accusations against Rwanda, calling for the international community to intervene by pressing sanctions against the country.
“There was no reason to justify this aggression, except for economic reasons, which were specific to Rwanda, the instigator of this aggression,” Tshisekedi said, accusing Rwanda of “systematic plundering.”
In response, Macron said he is waiting for the end of ongoing peace negotiations before taking any steps.
He, however, promised that his country would be “Faithful to its role as an unwavering ally of [DRC] to defend its integrity and sovereignty.”
DRC continues to accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels, however, the allegations have been repeatedly denied by Rwanda.
