How do you commemorate a piece of shared French and African history at a time when Paris' policy on the continent is being challenged? That is the dilemma facing French President Emmanuel Macron at the Provence landing ceremonies scheduled for Thursday, August 15, at Boulouris and off the coast of Toulon. To celebrate the 80th anniversary of this operation, dubbed "Dragoon," the second act after the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, which led to the liberation of France, the Elysée Palace wanted to display a "very high level of African participation." The majority of the 250,000 or so soldiers in this "B army," led by Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny (now known as the "First Army"), came from the colonies.
On Wednesday, French authorities announced the participation of five African heads of state: Paul Biya of Cameroon, Azali Assoumani of the Comoros, Faure Gnassingbé of Togo, Faustin-Archange Touadéra of the Central African Republic and General Brice Oligui Nguema, President of the Gabonese transition. Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Guinea, Magadascar, Senegal and Tunisia are expected to be represented at ministerial level.
While most French-speaking African countries will be present at this commemoration, where it is customary for the French president to honor the contribution of African tirailleurs [indigenous troops in the French Army during colonization] to the liberation of France from the Nazi yoke, the level of their participation remains below that of the 70th anniversary. On August 15, 2014, 12 African presidents made the trip alongside former president François Hollande, and a total of 19 states were represented.
But since then, in many countries of the former French preserve, his successor Macron has been confronted with a powerful sovereigntist wave, fanned by the rise of protest against France's African policy. The Elysée resident's commitment to issues of remembrance, one of the main thrusts of his African policy since his first term in office, has suffered as a result. Heads of state on the continent are now daring to show that they are regaining the upper hand vis-à-vis the former colonizer.
Macron can, however, count on the presence of one of France's oldest allies in Africa. The oldest of the invited heads of state, Cameroon's President Paul Biya, 91 with 41 years in power, is due to deliver a speech on Thursday morning from the Boulouris necropolis, where lie the bodies of 464 soldiers killed during the liberation of France via the shores of Provence. Macron and his counterparts are then due to travel to Toulon where they will attend a re-enactment of the landings on the beaches of Le Mourillon aboard the amphibious helicopter carrier Dixmude.
You have 60.15% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.