Africa deserves better than simplistic views

As a reporter, essayist and filmmaker, François-Xavier Freland aims to challenge the negative narrative surrounding the relationship between Africa and France.

François-Xavier Freland, you are a freelance senior reporter, author of several books and a filmmaker. Your new book, La grande repentance Afrique-France: les infortunes de la vertu, is published by Intervalles. Why did you choose to tackle this subject?
Precisely because I am a field reporter. While working in Mali, I spent a great deal of time in the Sahel. I became increasingly frustrated by the constant discourse of repentance and mea culpa. It seemed to me that, in our media, we were apologising excessively. We have long-standing and complex relations with Africa, and not all of them are negative. I wanted to restore some balance.

What you’re saying seems almost the opposite of what you criticise.
I deliberately set out to challenge the way Africa is covered from Paris. I worked at RFI for many years, and some viewers may also recognise me from France 24 and TV5. I realised that I was often one of the few voices presenting a different perspective on France in Africa.

Let me give you two examples. When I was in Mali, I often heard people expressing support for France. Yet even a small demonstration of a few hundred people would be portrayed as evidence that Malians were broadly opposed to France and to Operation Barkhane. These were sweeping generalisations.

Almost every day, the media criticised France for its history of slavery and colonisation. Yet colonisation did not begin with France; it dates to antiquity. And slavery, tragic as it is, is not solely a French issue. It is something we must condemn, but it does not define the entirety of French colonial history.

This raises a fundamental question: where do we draw the line? We need to address history accurately, from multiple perspectives, and with balance. At the same time, we cannot ignore reality.

If we are to acknowledge reality, we must also highlight positive figures. I explored this in my book and in a film, À l’École de l’universel, broadcast on TV5 Monde. It tells the story of a Frenchwoman of Breton origin who founded the first schools for women in Africa. I found it difficult to promote this work on public broadcasters because it made some people uncomfortable; they felt it portrayed colonisation in too positive a light.

Yet this, too, is part of our shared history. Without Germaine Le Goff, there might not have been Jeanne Martin Cissé in Guinea, the first woman to sit on the UN Security Council and Sékou Touré’s first female minister.

The Franco-African relationship is like a microcosm—a kind of village with its own narratives and assumptions. At times, it feels like a closed world that stages its own debates and imposes its own orthodoxy.

When I lived in Bamako in 2007–2008, I rarely heard negative views about France. On the contrary, even in remote villages, people would express admiration, sometimes even speaking positively about aspects of the colonial period. There was often a favourable perception.

In my view, the current hostility has been amplified by media and diplomatic narratives that repeatedly emphasise France’s faults. France 24, created under Jacques Chirac to promote French perspectives globally, particularly in Africa, has in some ways become a platform for anti-French sentiment. That surprised me.

I am from Brittany, I am French, I love Africa, and I believe that exaggerating the negative does no one any favours. Africa deserves better than simplistic portrayals.

Your determination to challenge dominant narratives is clear. Some of your positions may be seen as controversial, particularly your alignment with figures such as Ambassador Xavier Driencourt and the writer Boualem Sansal, who take a more combative stance.
I stand by that. I respect people who take risks. Boualem Sansal has shown great courage. He returned to his country despite criticising its regime. He is an African voice offering a perspective that differs from what I see as an often simplistic or opportunistic discourse.

So how do we deconstruct this narrative? By encouraging greater pluralism in the media, especially in France. We need more openness to contradiction. Too often, we promote a narrative we assume will resonate with Africans, without asking whether it truly reflects their views.

You are being quite critical. Yet your own field experience informs your perspective, while many in Paris seem disconnected from African realities.
There is indeed a great deal of ignorance—and, frankly, a degree of arrogance. The same commentators dominate mainstream debates. They are repeatedly invited, and the range of perspectives remains narrow.

We seem to hear the same arguments repeatedly, as if within a closed system.
Exactly. We are living in a highly polarised era. I have friends across the political spectrum, and I have never been easily categorised. That, I think, reflects a certain sincerity. I am simply trying to share what I have observed on the ground.

I have travelled extensively across Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. I object to exaggeration. When people claimed that Operation Barkhane acted without restraint or represented a neo-colonial force, that was not my experience. Franco-Malian soldiers were serving in the French army, united in combating a common enemy: jihadism and radical Islamism.

So, how do we rebuild the France–Africa relationship?
I think the narrative is already beginning to shift, which is a significant step. In Africa, people value honesty and directness. Part of the reason some African countries have turned towards Russia is that the Russians communicate in a more straightforward manner.

France needs to be more transparent about its interests and adopt a genuinely reciprocal approach. There is no need for moralising rhetoric. Instead, relations should be based on mutual respect and sovereignty.

We must also recognise cultural differences. Attempts to impose certain social or political frameworks can be poorly received. It may be wiser to focus first on building respectful, balanced partnerships.

Given your experience, how do you see relations evolving, particularly at a time of tension?
This is a transitional period. Things are changing rapidly. Despite current difficulties, I believe the underlying ties remain strong. Take Benin, for example: there is no widespread desire to sever relations with France. The relationship persists because it is mutually beneficial.

Rather than dwelling on past mistakes, we should focus on building calm, equal partnerships. It is time to move beyond a sense of superiority and towards genuine equality.

I also believe that more space should be given to African voices based on the continent itself. Some diaspora intellectuals, while important, may have perspectives shaped largely by life in Paris. Meanwhile, many Africans educated globally no longer see France as their sole reference point. They are moving beyond historical grievances and rejecting a purely victim-based narrative.

Isn’t this all interconnected?
Perhaps. My aim is not to be negative but to question certain structural tendencies in French political and intellectual life, where influence often operates in closed circles.

You have travelled widely across a continent facing multiple challenges, particularly in the Sahel and Central Africa. What is your outlook?
I see capable and determined people across Africa. Increasingly, countries will rely less on external expertise—whether French, American or Russian. Africans are taking ownership of their future.

We are already seeing progress in various countries, particularly in Anglophone Africa, albeit with challenges. Take Benin: after independence, it faced severe difficulties, yet today it is rebuilding and advancing. People recognise progress and leadership.

Of course, not everything is perfect—but the same is true in Europe. The question is whether we remain trapped in the past or move forward. I believe the future lies in looking ahead.

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