How France (Still) Controls Africa
Vložit
- čas přidán 7. 04. 2022
- France's African empire ended in the 1960s...but not really. Ismael Loutfi explains.
Sources here: bit.ly/3NVakq9
These videos are entirely funded by small donations. In order to expand what we do, we need your help. Please join us on Patreon if you can: / gravelinstitute
Or, if you prefer, give a one-time donation: secure.actblue.com/donate/br-...
ERRATA: At 5:16 we show a map of several European countries, not just those that use the Euro. We regret the error!
Thank you for watching this video - we were very happy to make it. We're sorry for the ask, but all of our funding comes from ordinary people. We need you to join us so we can continue making videos. You get rewards too! Join us at www.patreon.com/gravelinstitute.
As a French military officer I can unfortunately confirm that all you say is true (minor some irrelevant imprecisions).
That being said, wouldnt it be nice if you did a video on US involvement in Ukraine and the Huge responsability it shares with Russia in the current war?
No?
France still controls Africa because we can 😎! If they don't like it, they wouldn't have all migrated to France. They clearly see how based our country is. Vive la France ! 😎🇫🇷🥖
Idk about you but Guinea-Bissau isnt a French colony, its portuguese, just wanted to say that
@@sardanapale2302 they already did, but it got taken down.
How to explain the state of the world in one sentence: We are ran by junkies, “profit junkies”
Something not mentioned in the video is France’s role in the assassination of the President of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, because he wanted his country to get off of the Franc and be self-sufficient. His right hand man, Blaise Campaoré, also played a role in Sankara’s assasination. Fortunately, he has been given a life sentence for his role in the assassination.
We'll be doing a video about Sankara in the coming months!
He was only given a life sentence because he knew too much, but if they killed him it would be too “suspicious”
@@SonofChrist77 yep, there was a coup in Burkina a few months ago. The life sentence is simply the new regime cleaning house.
Sankara was the man! I just learned about him from youtube videos a few months ago. I love youtube for the free history i get to learn.
The life sentence matters little, Campaoré was flown out with the help of French commandos during the Coup a few years back. Now he resides in Ivory Coast, a nation with very close to France.
The French have rebranded themselves pretty thoroughly - the extent of their neocolonialism is still a surprise to many Westerners, especially Americans. Don't look away from Africa.
Americans tend to not care about the wider world unless the wider world drags us into it. Strategic isolation is a beautiful thing that many take for granted.
France is the most guilty of this for sure, but the other colonial powers, America and China also keep (lighter) ways of neocolonialism throghout the world.
french keeps Africa poor out of white supremacists men. Racist traditions and culture of french. White supremacists agenda.
@@cancerino666 you say it now but if given the chance. You would not say anything about the crimes committed against Africans. White supremacists men would kill you. I know the game well.
@@cancerino666 all colonial practice is the same. Different approach same games over and over again.
This video explains perfectly the reasons behind the current revolts in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso... Thanks for your work.
Except Russia is behind it. What do Niger expect? That Russia would leave them alone after France leaves?
Both situations is bad for niger
And Guinea 🇬🇳
@@diollinebranderson6553 NOOOOOO RUSSIA BEHIND TRUMP, RUSSIA BEHIND ECONOMICAL COLLAPSE, RUSSIA BEHIND NIGER, RUSSIA-
take your meds schizo hahaha
Nuh uh, these revolts are just some power hungry elites that are in bad terms with other elites.
Recent coups in Niger and Gabon with popular support shows Africa is finally breaking from France colonialism
"They're not underdeveloped. They're overexploited."
Nice Michael Parenti quote.
I went into the comments searching for someone who noticed this, glad the Gravel Institute is doing its research.
@@theremapping3840 So did I, ha ha ha. Parenti seems kind of forgotten, and that sucks.
Was wanting to see that someone else noticed
exploited? lmao no one is hurting africa except its corrupt leaders. the fact that subsaharan africa pulled itself from a society of iron age hunter-gatherers to a relatively advanced and modernizing society (astounding, by the way) couldn't have happened any other way. it's telling that up until now, there have been no new railroads built in africa since decolonization.
goat
There was once a country in Africa called Upper Volta, an infamously exploited French colony. In the mid-80s, there was a military coup that installed a popular statesman named Thomas Sankara. Sankara began instituting some much needed reforms, such as mass vaccination and literacy programs, food self-suffieciency, and the planting of trees to stave off desertification (which all of Northern Africa suffers from). He also made such cultural reforms as banning polygamy, genital mutilation and forced marriages, and mandated austerity for government workers so as to focus the country's economy for the public's benefit. Finally, he changed the name of the country to Burkina Faso, which means 'The Land of Upright Men'.
In just over a year and a half, he had managed to make Burkina Faso an economically self-sufficient and independent nation. The French could not abide this. In 1987, Sankara's right-hand man, Blaise Compaore, betrayed him and assasinated him in his office.
Africa is not poor. Africa is in fact quite rich. But it is also being ROBBED.
As an anarchist, I do respect Thomas Sankara for that. However, why did he ban polygamy as a “cultural reform”? In my opinion polygamy (as long as the individuals are consenting) is fine. But really other than that, the only problem I have with sankara is the fact that he was a dictator and he did kill a lot of striking workers in Burkina Faso.
However, this video is extremely biased. Yes, France has tried to mantain their influence in Africa, but it was only logical since they had very strong ties from the begining. Sure, shady stuff and backed coups happened in the years after the independence of Francafrique. But claiming that it still happens today in the same degree or even worse is ridiculous.
Just a few examples, Bollore (the billionaire that controls many ports in such african countries that is mentioned in the video) was trialed and fined with 12 million Euros to pay to their prosecutors in 2021 for Bribery in Togo and further investigation on other corruption cases is underway by french authorities. This was judged and settled in a court in Paris. the french government would never have sentenced him if they were colluded in the crime. It would have been very easy to turn a blind eye.
Another example, the intervention in Mali. The french army was deplayed only after the pleas of the local government to fight emerginf terrorist groups. France went to fight them and brought humanitarian aid to the inhabitants for years. But recently Mali experienced a coup and the new government decided to expel the french from Mali while the population was being bombarded with propaganda similar to this to reject France and SUPPORT RUSSIA in the new government. If France really wanted to "keep their colonial power" in Mali, they could have sent their army already there to squash the coup and protect the government. But they did not. They chose to respect the sovereignity of Mali and withdrew form there.
@@miguelangelamezcuarosales7687 The video isn't biased. France is still profiting from africa while doing things to keep them from growing. One good act doesn't erase the many bad ones.
@@Nigel-Nathan France has taken advantage from Africa in the past, and certainly there are still some practices from France that make it more difficult for african countries to succed, but blatantly saying that France is still controlling them as colonies is nonsense. Bad acts should not get ereased, but France isn´t the same as in the past precisely because of what I explained.
@@miguelangelamezcuarosales7687 12 millions to Bolloré is absolutely nothing. You have no idea what happens behind the set, the trial was likely a pressure point for negotiations since shady deals litteraly happen all the time between the corrupt governments of the colonies and the french elite.
No fundamental changes have happened to France and the exploitation is still going on.
It's like saying the CIA doesn't do coups anymore.
And also your reading of the situation in Mali is very naïve.
With the military coups going on in Western Africa, especially the francophone one, I've been looking for a very good explanation on the current relationships between France and these countries. Thank you for this video. It was revealing and interesting.
These coups are overthrowing French puppet states
Here is how it works and why the US has so many overseas military bases
The US installs a puppet government, and buys up or take control of all the news media. The puppet government then allows US + European companies to extract the resources for mere pennies using African labor and all the resources are sent back to France and US.
All these overseas military bases are to keep their investments safe and keep their puppets under control
Ever since the coup in Niger I've been reading everything about French neo-colonialism in the Sahel region.
It's been eye opening. As an American we never hear about this disgusting stiff still going on in Africa
@@michaelscott5653
I'm African but the same thing here, I didn't know much what French were up to until a couple of days ago, what I've come to know is sticking and sad. Africa deserves better.
@@michaelscott5653
Our foreign policy establishment helps France do this. And our media essentially will never talk about it.
Then they'll make African Americans vote for people who will keep this game going.
It's an interesting thing that the "Black Lives Matter" movement help bring back into power a group of people who are ruining the lives of millions and millions of people in Africa. Go figure.
You're welcome! I'm glad you found the video informative. The relationship between France and its former colonies in Western Africa is complex and often contentious. France has maintained strong political and economic ties with these countries since they gained independence, often exerting significant influence over their internal affairs.
The recent military coups in countries like Mali and Guinea have raised questions about the extent of France's involvement in these crises. Some have accused France of propping up authoritarian regimes in the region to secure its own economic interests, while others argue that France has a responsibility to support stability and democracy in its former colonies.
Overall, the relationship between France and its former colonies in Western Africa continues to evolve, and it will be interesting to see how it develops in the wake of these recent events.
Wow. I'm from Germany and I didn't even know this. One does hear about neo-colonialism and how Africa is being exploited, but it is never pointed out in this clarity how there's a continuity with old colonialism and what role France is playing.
The French ( and the British) never actually gave up the business of colonialism, they just changed the business model from direct ( hands on) control to indirect ( remote) control.
How the French do it has been described rather well in the video, in the case of the British, it's done thru financial control and their network of off shore banking havens in places like the Cayman islands Mauritius etc, the ruling class of the former British colonies are still in London's pocket, and they in collaboration with the British exploit those countries and their recourses and the wealth created by this exploitation is reinvested in the city of London via the overseas territory's ( which are British territory but legally not a part of the UK). So that's how the British system works.
I hate France more than any Axis now.
Children are born and become adults watching such control and think God made it that way ,only to realise they need to free themselves from those claws of neocolonialism.Where to begin is the problem.
Germans preffer china to be the evil.
In mainstream media they only blame China
Very interesting. You hear a lot about American imperialism or British imperialism but this is something I never really knew about.
@@hakunamatata3935Russia is still a superpower. As nice as that is for Mali I doubt Russia/Putin did it because it was the right thing to do. They did it because it means a weaker France and in turn a weaker geopolitical rival.
@@JJ-sq1fv Although Ukraine is so far testing Russia's might.
@@JJ-sq1fv France is a greater imperial power than Russia.
@@masterofalltrades_ idk enough to really say which is worse, but I can say that they’re both pretty bad when it comes to that. Russia didn’t really go for Africa, but they did go for Eastern Europe and The Caucuses pretty hard.
@@JJ-sq1fv. Russia is just a developing nation. Which will never develop.
Just as significant as what happened to Toure was what happened in Burkina Faso. When Thomas Sankara came to power in 1983, in just 4 years he created a grain surplus for the first time, the population was widely vaccinated against diseases, he fought against the desertification of the Sahel and built infrastructure across the country for the first time and destroyed the remnants of feudalism in the countryside.
Then in 1987, when Burkina Faso started to get too independent, the French backed a coup against him that ruined the country.
However, this video is extremely biased. Yes, France has tried to mantain their influence in Africa, but it was only logical since they had very strong ties from the begining. Sure, shady stuff and backed coups happened in the years after the independence of Francafrique. But claiming that it still happens today in the same degree or even worse is ridiculous.
Just a few examples, Bollore (the billionaire that controls many ports in such african countries that is mentioned in the video) was trialed and fined with 12 million Euros to pay to their prosecutors in 2021 for Bribery in Togo and further investigation on other corruption cases is underway by french authorities. This was judged and settled in a court in Paris. the french government would never have sentenced him if they were colluded in the crime. It would have been very easy to turn a blind eye.
Another example, the intervention in Mali. The french army was deplayed only after the pleas of the local government to fight emerginf terrorist groups. France went to fight them and brought humanitarian aid to the inhabitants for years. But recently Mali experienced a coup and the new government decided to expel the french from Mali while the population was being bombarded with propaganda similar to this to reject France and SUPPORT RUSSIA in the new government. If France really wanted to "keep their colonial power" in Mali, they could have sent their army already there to squash the coup and protect the government. But they did not. They chose to respect the sovereignity of Mali and withdrew form there.
@@miguelangelamezcuarosales7687 Thats essentially a happy nice face on slavery. How would Americans react if this arrangement was on the US? These nations are exploited into continuing poverty and could have already been out and self determining. Much of the white world justifies this arrangement for fina cual as well as cultural benefits.
@@miguelangelamezcuarosales7687 You find it ridiculous that countries that are exploited might ask for help countering terrorism? And somehow that explains why they're not exploited?
@@equinox4467 I think you did not understand my statement. They are not being actively exploited as the video claims because then it makes zero sense for France not to prevent the coup from happening. They had their military in mali already, but they did not interfere in their politics, and as a result the new government decided to expel them and France respected their decision. Tell me, would they do that if they sought to "keep exploiting" Mali so bad?
Everyone knows what happened and why the only question that remains is will Africa do anything about it.
I remember back in 2019 when the ECOWAS (The economic bloc of west Africa with mostly Francophone countries and 4 English speaking countries) attempted to start a new currency called the Eco, it was meant to be west Africa's version of the Euro. Sadly it never came to past as alot of decisions were taken without the consent of the Anglophone countries and because of lack of transparency Nigeria and Ghana (the 2 biggest economies in west Africa) pulled out of lack of trust, others followed. Some sources claim France had an involvement in the destroying that plan as it was a threat to the CFA. Today it remains a dead idea that never came to past
I swear to you in the next 20 years I will unite all of Africa and we will defeat the invasion from the West. I swear this to you we will unite.
Not too indifferent to Hussien’s plans, look at what the West did to them
@@spillaking haha funny African thinking he's capable
@@spillaking One language one Africa.
@@spillaking While you were guarding from invasion from west, east already invaded you. Good luck. You will need it.
I know its late but thanks for bringing this up. As someone who moved in and then out of one of those countries, it was mind opening to see how different outside perception is from the reality on the ground. Reading some of these comments and seeing that more people are realizing the truth does bring a smile to my face. Hopefully awareness will lead to positive change in the future
Because UK need immigration 🤣
"Civilizing Mission"...Synonym for Imperialism & Nationalism.🤦🏿♂️
This seems to be a common denominator for many empires.
Today it’s “spreading liberal democracy and freedom” espoused by the same western bastards as before. Different rhetoric same 💩.
😪😪
Or "Spreading Western Values".
@@kholeka8475 the longer we uphold those so called “values” the more they take from us.
PragerU title "How the West saved Africa"
Who wanted you savior ??? Oh no one in the World and never will...
They already made a video praising Brisith Colonizers, so I don't know, maybe they already made one on Africa
Next up : How the Europeans saved America
@@gnefignefi7213 czcams.com/video/l3nSGQohyPk/video.html
My geography teacher mentioned one time that the French wanted to colonize the southern most islands of my country. He asked us if we can imagine the rebels and insurgents speaking French. We laughed. But damn. Now im realizing how power hungry some people can be considering France and my country are on the opposite sides of the globe.
what country do you live in
@@kylegamingyt8448 philippines
@@bolothetitan5009 o
Why did you laugh tho? Spain literally sits next to France. They share a border.
Spain colonized the Philippines for how many centuries?
How did your country come to speak English? How did you get Spanish names and words in your vernacular? Do not be fooled!
Right now, colonisation is taking place right under your nose but it's more subtly done.
This is part of the story as to why many African countries haven’t been so willing to jump into the Russia/Ukraine conflict
Honestly who can blame them.
The west is showing their hypocrisy more than ever, since when do they care about Eastern Europe?
their life is much worse than Ukrainians
A lot of voting decisions from the developing world can only be understood if you know what the neo colonialists are still doing around the world, and the history of who had helped whom fight against these at significant point of countries’ respective histories.
that and the wagner private military corporation taking up the role of military in CAR mali and libya - the governments need Russia and the economic and military assistance to prop up the old colonial power structures so they went from one neocolonial sponsor to the next. Ideally what our governments in the west should do is debt relief and an end to all colonialist practices and give economic assistance that is mutually beneficial and not just exploitative. but the western elites have no interest in that since it means siphoning away their wealth.
Besides the whole caring for Ukraine but not Africa stuff, the West is super hypocritical when it comes to Ukraine. When Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia, there were no protests outside of Ukraine (Except for some in Poland and the Baltics from what I've heard) and literally didn't care about Eastern Europe prior to the war. But now all of a sudden they started caring for Ukraine and pretending as if it's their own country...?
France also supported and armed the government of Rwanda that carried out the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsis, even though Rwanda was never even a French colony.
belgian is basicially french
@@ausintune9014 As a dutch person. No.
@@ausintune9014 LMAO, i am belgian and we belgians are the oposite of the french.
@@wafelswafels8613 uhh Walloonia?
@@Zetaaktion They too, they only speak (french) but they are not french.
It's so easy to overlook France's shenanigans when you're in the Anglosphere. Thanks for the important video.
@@doogus8728 Yes, Africans for starters
i'm french and this video is just bad. france abolish arab slavetrade and internal african slavetrade. if slavery is illegal in africa it's because france maid it illegal. france end 2 slavetrade who were longer than transatlantic slavetrade, but no one never talk about it.
and for CFA today you absolutely don't understand anything about it and just repeat hoaxes... france try to give the total control of cfa to africans since almost 10 years, but africans don't accept because with the cfa france garantee the debts of africans and it's why african can borrow money at a better rate than a lot of europeans countrys.
a half truth is a half lie.
The west was built on shenanigans nothing new.
Anglophone Africa are well aware of the exploitative nature of France in Africa.
France gets a pass because they're a bunch a liberals.
I'm gonna do something I didn't think I would ever do 4 a CZcams channel and become 1 of ur financial supporters; he information u disseminate is SO severely important and resonates with me on SUCH a deep level
Thanks for the vidéo ! I really appreciate it!
I'm Algerian, and I've seen what France has been doing in Africa recently. It's simply undenyable that France controls most of West Africa. In fact, even in Algeria and Morocco, France used to have a huge influence over the politics of both countries for a while, however it is reducing more and more nowadays.
I'd like to point out about the fact that Mali and the Central African Republic are slowly achieving their independence from France, but they are only getting closer to Russia for some reason. That case would be interesting to cover.
LOL this video is extremly partial and innacurate. We are a major importer of African ressources but we pay for it just like everybody else. Our GDP per capita is comparable to other neighbouring European countries, so no OP French cheat code that makes us particulary rich. And the Mitterand quote is because he is a self loathing leftist who was riding the "muh diversity" train.
Facts are that the colonies were a huge money sink for us and that our economy grew like it never did before when we dumped them while the colonies themselves stagnated or even got worse. Really make you wonder who was exploiting who.
"but they are only getting closer to Russia for some reason"
They are dictatures, as France has ended the Francafrique policy of the 60s-80s period and in 2020 asks for democracy and respect to laws, it doesn't want to play ball with them, so they go to those who will help them stay in power.
I think that makes sense, as they can balance two world powers who have interests in their country so that they can have push for better terms in their relationship. Now France cant just screw them over completely as they have competition.
@@darklazerx7913 You don't get it.
France will not negociate any term with them. That is why they go to Russia.
Because Russia is behaving in 2020 like France did in 1960.
You could say that instead of Francafrique you now have Russiafrique.
@@MN-vz8qm Nope Russia is not near as engaged in foreign countries as France. Take example Kazakhstan . It's China that is competing with France
Would love to see a video on the privatization of water and exploitation in Africa/the Middle East.
Would be interesting
Unlikely, thats mostly Ethiopia and turkey as the main exploiters
@@jimpickins7900 not only. Nestlé for example owns African water
Thank you very much for the video such a overlooked topic
Thank you SO SO very much 4 this video!!! I had ZERO idea this was going on despite my avid interest in and care for the horrific problems in Africa
It's really infuriating how there are people who claim neocolonialism doesn't exist and African countries are poor because their people are apparently "lazy" and deny the fact how the people of Africa aren't allowed to use resources for the development of their societies, including my own father.
The white control of the world is based at least partially on this concept; it naturalizes oppression and the profits of exploitation as inevitable; everyone else tries to copy and climb the ladder on Black backs.
lol "humanright violation"
used by those who violate on those who havent even violated
Internal corruption from African politicians is also a big problem. Botswana’s President managed to make their country develop significantly by being not corrupt and not getting couped
LavaringX the narrative surrounding the development of Botswana is highly neoliberal and most of the population lives in abject poverty still, on the same level as Iraq. Same with Rwanda.
@@casuallavaring It's not corruption, it is simply how capitalism works. The comprador bourgeois are incapable of breaking away from imperialist money faucet. Revolution! That is the way for Africa
WEST African needs to STAND UP and follow the leadership of Ghana and Rwanda leadership.
And Botswana.
Very well done video ,and your voice is great ,keep doing the good stuff ,peace bro
Thank You for this very accurate informative video
Thank you Gravel Institute for providing this video along with your sources. Really informative stuff right here.
As a Nigerian, my country is surrounded by former french colonies, and neighbours keep complaining about how the French are still up in their business, forcing them to keep using their french dependant currency, and interfering in their domestic affairs...
Which sucks, cause these countries are mostly suffering heavy dictatorships and poverty...France has basically allowed themselves to take from them...and give nothing back
Your country must be doing great since it's not a former french colony, no ?
@@Mr_Valentin. yeah...it's the richest country in Africa, but since the government steals like 65% of our GDP, you sure as hell won't know it if you came there lol....
@@Mr_Valentin. obsessed troll
The French government, not the french people. Françafrique is something the regular French Citizen is not usually aware of.
It’s actually quite true… I try to stay well aware of politics and the world and learned a lot in thaïs video… still I suppose (Hope) it is not all bad and Nowadays France is not the sole reason african countries struggles.
But it seems clear that my country souldn’t interfere with others… and that is sad and infuriating to learn…
Thank you Gravel Institute for this documentary, incase no one has been observing France is now facing a major challenge in keeping neocolonialism under wraps as these African countries who have been exploited by the French are kicking the imperialists out and a looming conflict could happen for the true independence of these African nations and the African economy at large.
Thank you for teaching and Informing
you know what I love about this show... the presenters never talk about themselves, they just talk about history and facts (with citations). PragerU presenters are always like "trust me, I'm from Canada, but I moved to America, American healthcare is way better, here's an anecdote..."
wow, you are a true fan.
Criticizing a right wing channel like PragerU is justified. Pretending that its left wing equivalent doesn't make the same sensationalist ideologically blinded opinion pieces presented as news/information/education discredits you criticism.
But well done comrade
@Andrew Monos amen
God bless you!!! Those hypocrites on pragerU should just go to hell...
"facts"
You are just as brainwashed as PragerU fans, and just like them, you can't realize it because you get all your information from one biased source.
This is your best video yet! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this, and many of your other historical videos. I had no idea about the extent of Frances continued exploitation of Africa until watching this. You are doing good work, keep it up.
Thank you so much. You are doing the work of humanity.
And the French call themselves advocates of human rights lol
They protested Black Lives Matter in 2020
Lolllllllll!!!!!
Only the stupid believe them
And for further education on the subject, Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa is an essential and earth shattering read
In the first place, Africa has terrible geography
it all intentional tho
@@jeclipse129 so...Africa would do better without europe, no mattter the geography
@@ciarancube6018 Except that the two African countries that were never colonized (Liberia and Ethiopia) are among the poorest.
@@alaindumas1824 Ethiopia is in the top 5 wealthiest African countries and Liberia doesn't count as it's new
So cool video. I never learnt this in school
We the new generation are not going to allow this exploitation to continue
Great video. Your next should be 'Why America (Still) Controls Latin America (through Neocolonialism)'
THIS.. And the dollar..
It does not control it at all. Latin america has plenty of powers that often go against the US.nobody forces them to use the dollar. The only thing that negativly effects the rest from the US is the "fight" against communism that saw the CIA overthrow and support goverment and groups. Is it bad? Yeah. Is it colonialism and controling? No.
@@vivstephen anti imperialists appose having a currency for international trade trade?
@@williamthebonquerer9181 I actually went through and did the math France exports more to these countries than they import it’s called trade bruh
@@Caligulashorse1453 it's costing France so much they are literally pulling out XD
To add to this, after Haiti rebelled from France they were isolated from trade. France made a deal that they would trade with them, but had to pay for the cost of the slaves being "freed". They were paying them till the 1920s were most of the tax revenue went to paying France. Having over seas territories is rightfully not popular so you have to make it look different now.
do you know it's french tax payers who mostly paid this debt and the left is lying to you ?
@@davidjeanmichel8358 this isn't a political stance Haiti had to pay France 70 million Francs in the 1800s for their independence.
Kind of like the opposite of what the brits did
in reality they had to pay until 1947. Originally a debt of 150 million francs and reduced to 90 million francs.
@@sachaweijdisch9690They never reduced anything because France is still stealing haitian money
Great Video! SUBSCRIBED!
France is a tiny country with limited resources and would be poor if it wasn’t for Africa. One day they’ll get what they deserve, Africa is waking up as generations grow and information becomes more available and accessible. I may not even be alive to see it happen, but I know one day the tables will turn and the chickens will come home to roost.
@Mira Moche even an ex French president said that France wouldn’t be shit without Africa. That says everything.
France would definitely not be poor without Africa, but a lot weaker .Also, i dont get it, you want the new generations of french to be punish for something they didnt do ?
@@gasselsso8685 I don’t want new generations to be punished. But I think it’s fair to say that France should be paying reparations to their colonies.
@@freddyboss7251 i agree at 100%, we need to pay (or atleast help)
UN: Time’s up France. Your colonization is over.
France: *You fool, I have 70 alternative accounts*
Great video, thank you!
This aged well. For anyone confused about Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso here ya go!
incredibly interesting, please more about Africa
incredibly biased, it is not even funny when you know the subject
@@MN-vz8qm I also think it's based! my man!
Wonderful piece, Gravel Institute. Solidarity forever. ✊🔥
Brilliantly refreshing video!!!
this is an amazing video!!
Would love to see videos explaining the current wealth of most EU countries, I'm from Belgium and this isn't the kind of History you learn in school for obvious reasons
U got wealthy after ww2 because the USA bailed u out. If wealth from empires were always inherited Mongolia would be number one and the UK wouldn't of been on IMF loans in the 70s.
That's a cool attitude
I will vomit at this stage... leftism is truly killing intelligence.
Westerners have started to bypass the rest of the world with the renaissance, and the age of reason. Belief in science and technology gave them the upper hand compared to the rest of the world still living like they had for thousand of years.
Thanks to science they progressed toward industrialization, which has nothing to do with colonization, because the resources for it where local (coal, steel...).
Industrialization allows for the same amount of human work to produce 10 times, 100 times, 1000 times more goods, and is the reason of wealth until the 70s.
Since the second half of the 20th century, the westerners have found a better source of income: the service economy, a source of income independent of any raw materials. Massive numbers of highly educated people offer a wide range of high value services to the world (engineers, scientists etc...), while other nations have taken over the industry sector (china for example).
Here is why the african exploitation rethoric is non sensical. Back during the time of colonization, the mineral exploitation of africa was low because it was difficult to access the sources, and transporting it to europe was too costly (during the african colonization, the main french import from africa was exotic fruits...). And since the end of the colonization, the europeans do not rely on industry anyway (appart from the germans to an extand) and buy straight to china for nearly all products.
If you speak French look at the chanel : « Oui d’accord ». It is well explain how all this works.
@@Ankha38 Damn, I watched one of his video, that was excellent. Thanks for the recommandation.
This doesn't even get into the ways that the French indirectly create African conflicts to this very day.
In Cameroon, the French language is being used as a tool of oppression against the English dominant regions. Francophones have been appointed as lawyers, educators, and government officials over Anglophones in an Anglophone dominated region. In addition, the Cameroonian government has cracked down heavily on protests in the Anglophone regions that simply wanted some laws to be translated into English and then taught in universities in the Anglophone regions.
The conflict has escalated to a full scale civil war. Now the Anglophone regions want to form a new country, called "Ambazonia", so they can free themselves of Cameroonian oppression.
The French and English languages shouldn't even be there in the first place. It's only there because of Imperialism and exploitation of the African people BY the Europeans. Yet it's one of the main driving forces behind a war that has caused the displacement of over 1 million people.
@ DevinMes Thank you for comment. Im remember hearing briefly about the conflict in Cameron. I need to do more research on it.
Interesting I never knew the history behind the conflict
@@tevbuff I'm happy to help. I know a lot about Cameroon, as it is a country very important to me.
The situation in Cameroon has nothing to with France. Speaking french ≠ being french. It’s just another example of a majority that treats badly a minority.
@@sans_hw187 This has everything to do with France.
This conflict start up wouldn't exist without European colonization. These are borders that were make because of the Europeans and then influenced further by the Europeans. This border dispute is the result of Africans having to decide the future of their country based off of territory dictated by the colonies of Europeans.
France is entirely responsible for forcing their language onto the locals like the British are responsible for forcing their language onto their own colonies. And, naturally, language is a big driving factor to this conflict.
Let us also not forget that France still exploits Cameroon economically, like they do many of their "former" colonies. With the formation of Ambazonia, they have a chance to govern themselves and break away from toxic French influence.
Great video!
Hopefully the French citizens wake up and demand change following the election. As citizens they also have a responsibility to change this.
Macron the current president of french is a puppet designed to suck up all the french oligarchs, that prick was elected twice, unfortunately. the dude acknowledges (excuse) the prior actions of the french in Africa to sound cool but still tries to exploit them even more. when there is a conflict in Africa they send troupes and act like they're here to help people but they are just fully blinded by cheap resources.
Africa needs to wake up and increase their value they have the resources. they have the people, I'm just waiting for the day a guy will unite his country, his continent for the best.
FF to y'all these millionaires and billionaires exploiting people.
If french citizens get loud the prick will send his troupe to hit on the strikers as we already saw it, when people get in the street to protest and get back home days latter with an eye or an hand missing it does not give the willingness to go protest once again.
he's overacting, France is spending a lot in Africa purely to help them develop, and we're housing tons of refugees working in France and sending their money back in Africa.
@@ni9274 is this a joke? you control a country's resources and currency and then give them back "aid" to help them develop? france is the biggest cancer on the African continent.
The first reply is why you won't see any change. French citizen supports this exploitation and only reacts when their European brethren are attacked. They will open their boobs in front of Eifel for their brethren, but Africa can remain doomed.
@@ni9274 you being ignorant there are sources you can go read in the video description that you can go read
Did any of the left wing intellectuals in France during the latter years of 20th century like Sartre Camus Foucault or Derrida speak out or fight against this policy?
Yes. A prominent one was a guy named François-Xavier Verschave, who actually coined the term "Françafrique" (which in French is a pun - it sounds like "France à fric," "fric" being slang for cash).
@@TheGravelInstitute thank you am a fan of your work, may you continue to thrive.
To be fair with you, as a American french guy that grew up in France and lived out there for 20 years, i can bet my wallet that 98% of the french don’t know.
For them, France left Africa when they weren’t even born and they don’t hear anything about it.
The African youth will bring their attention to it. We can't wait to see France fall and the French government knows the next generation will be hard to deal with
As a french guy i can tell you that not so many people know about this shady stuff our gouvernment is doing and i must admit that this is concerning. Bonjour de la Lorraine
I know Africa and banking and can tell you that almost everything stated in this video is false.
Could you enlighten us?@@alaindumas1824
Pourriez-vous nous éclairer même un peu ?
Do you think the French government cares about having lost a foothold in western Africa?
We definitely wouldn't allow it to continue. We the younger generation had no idea about it until the internet became widespread. We will get our true independence!
lool you are ready to fight yesterday fight, well done!
The french don't care anymore about africa, your big trade partners / overlords are russians and chinesses nowadays.
Thanks for bringing this to light
I'm sooo glad that you guys made a video talking about this.
Thank you for shedding light on this subject. Much love from a Tunisian living in Germany because he was fed up with living in false freedom
Just commenting to boost the algorithm because more people need to see this
Excellent report!!!
Gabonese here, we have no french troops in the country since 2012 they only came back in 2018 because we have zero maritime security and there is a growing piracy issue plus they want to avoid Russia to sends instructors and weapons, also the majority of the information you stated are almost outdated 1. French want it seems to replace itself with the EU everything French used to enjoy is now be replaced by other European firms plus there is a growing western indoctrination in the country to counter China, every Chinese investor we used to have, have been kicked out and China is now changing is strategy. 2. Ali Bongo fallout with the French since its “reelection” in 2016 and it seems more and more that we may have a chance to elect who we want, but all candidates are all wannabe Bongo so for us, it almost impossible
absolutely !
China is interesting as they build tons of infrastructure everywhere but use there own workers. In a couple decades the African countries won't have the Chinese workers to rebuild the crumbling infrastructure.
@@williamthebonquerer9181 Yep, Ik this practices, but it will backfire on them because we will not want a new U.S. or France telling us what to do, and they are about to be in for a shock when they will find out they can't replace the U.S., U.K. or France and will have to open their market and not be able to do what they want anymore
@@jessymarcdanelnguema7240 soon china realises buying politicians loyalty in Africa won't work like it did in Europe. A pro Chinese government could get coup and unlike France or the UK/USA china would not fight to maintain hegemony. With smart leadership I don't think China will dominate africa. As a Brit ofc I appose french and Chinese hegemony XD. I'm actually happy that we have better relations with our ex colonies. If ever country we invaded held a grudge against us wed be more isolated than north Korea.
I really don't believe China will actually in the long term succeed in Africa. I think France will dwindle. If the uk had intelligent we'd try helping make Nigeria integrate west Africa and try help integrate the west African community.
Good that you're talking about internation stuff and not just american domestic policies.
Thank you for explaining
Thanks for the knowledge
I'm a french citizen and I can confirm that there is a fundamental lack of recognition, research, and discusion on colonial history and its consequences within the francosphere. It is deplorable. Whether it's in the caribbean, west and north africa, or polynesia, rich aristocrats, politicians, oligarchs, and technocrats continue to act in selfish self-profiting ways at the expense of the people. The worst part is that basically every former colonial power retains some form of neo-colony in one way or another. It's just that some are better at hiding it than others. Unless our future world leaders, politicians, and diplomats stop being driven by hedonistic, self-indulgent greed and instead act in the interests of the people, humanity, and love, then democracy will forever remain an illusion.
Never forget acts of colonization and colonialism in Africa have been committed by non-White people as well as White people
Like all the other the continents(except Antartica) Africa was no stranger to colonization or colonialism before the 15th century CE
I first congratulate you for writing this. But you need to do more... There's a generation that will arise in these African countries that will demand For justice, and believe me... We're also aware that france is not alone in this crime against Africa. ". That-day-will-come
-And-it's-near"
Nothing can be really hidden in this internet age. Don't generalize! Its not the same with France! Even with their neo-colonialism they are still economically getting weaker by the years! While all anglophones are becoming more economically strengthened each year!
I agree 🇭🇹
Appreciate the Michael Parenti quote!
You beat me to commenting this. I was sitting here like the Leo DiCaprio pointing meme after hearing the quote. Yellow Parenti will always remain undefeated.
Great reporting
Very good work. A lot could've been added but I guess it woudn't fit the short format.
Very informative
sneaking in the michael parenti quote 7:50
Great video
Well done! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
It's worth noting that before 1960, Europeans and especially France had an overwhelming net loss of resources with its African colonies. After it became much more preferable, probably a net gain in terms of finances and definitely a gain strategically.
Indeed. France really believed in its "civilizating" role in Africa, and invested a lot into its development, where the brits where much more level minded and simply though colonization as a business opportunity.
As France decolonized (after ww2, because it didn't have the financial means anymore to manage Africa), it is true that "interrests" (understand individuals, from the private sector as well as politicians) worked to grant themselves benefits in the new "freed" africa, and those links have basically lasted for the life duration of those men (that's why the "Francafrique" lasted well into the 80s).
Nowadays, we are in front of a much more classical corruption issue, some billionaire "buying" african politicians goodwill (like Bollore who was recently trialed). But the french are not anymore in the big league on this subject, compared to russian oligarchs, or chinesses.
Really nowadays the french simply search to sever their ties to africa, as it only creates problems (like Mali or Centrafrique) while not doing it completely irresponsably.
Yes but not before completely stripping Africa of its Resources and identity , then leaving when they've had there full , I use to support the Europeans bringing "civilization" to Africa until I learned what they did to Kongo
@@MN-vz8qm From what I learned the brits main goal in africa was. (establish ports for trade with Asia and set up that whole globalised economy)(stop the french getting more land than you or you'll never here the end of it)(control every naval chok point)
@@JcoleMc "they" I think you should define more precisely, because here you attribute merits and crimes based on skin color. Basically because of what the king of Belgium did in Knogo, you condemn "white people" actions overall.
@@MN-vz8qm it is a recurring story that is why we are getting worried , what does it mean to be a white person ? (not only congo , Native Americans , aborigines to name a few)
During the Vietnam War, or the resistance war against the US imperialists. Hating the French is a thing that both the Northern and Southern governments agree on.
🇨🇺❤🇻🇳
And Vietnam is currently the most prosperous of the ex-French colonies (Quebec aside)!
@@mrconfusion87 algeria laugth
Well illustrated...👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
And 😢 we the UK come to the conclusion that Africa has not helped it's self but in reality are rich and french are still shafting them. I wonder if unions might help.
All the European powers did horrible things in colonialism but the British get the most hate for it
@@OUTSTANDINGLYBRITISHI actually like the brits.
Coming from an African.
If I were to chose colonial master I’ll chose them.
Notice how most anglophone countries ended up becoming the most successful on the continent.
Earlier today I was trying to find a good video on this exact topic. Thank you for spreading information and truth!
So informative and well-explained! Thank you for this video. Any chance we could get a Part 2 that goes into more detail on a couple key industries?
great video
Great analysis.
I appreciate the Michael Parenti quote at 7:47
good video, just wanted to point out that there were a few countries highlighted in europe (when talking about the euro) that do not use this as a currency (e.g. the u.k. and sweden). not sure if the aim was just to highlight europe in general (although this is also confusing because norway isn't highlighted), but thought i should point it out. maybe i am missing something? 5:40
Imagine if Gabon had been left alone. It would be at least on par with Venezuela and Libya at their peak or even UAE.
Gabon is the country with the highest GDP per capita on the continent. Given that African countries that were never colonized (Liberia, Ethiopia) are among the poorest, with a GDP per capita about 10% of Gabon's, what makes you think that you got the wrong end of the stick?
To anyone looking for a more in-depth look at France's involvement in Africa, I can highly recommend The Dig's podcast from Feb 5, 2022 called 'Financial Empire' with Daniela Gabor and Ndongo Samba Sylla.
Highly recommended! Ndongo's book was the basis of this video
Amazing video Gravel Institute!
Hmmm… thank you so much for sharing this
4:50 Famous for getting overthrown in a revolution started by high school and elementary school students. He implemented a policy where if you wanted to attend school you'd have to buy an extremely expensive school uniform from a company he happened to own. He got owned hard.
What this video clearly showed was that inasmuch as France is the major actor, you cannot rule out the role of the African leaders themselves in supporting the system so they can benefit from it themselves.
france also favor anyone that support the system and "dismissing" the opposition
@@muhamadrizal4 that's why I see it as two sided because I can't ignore either side's role
This video is non-sense. It is actually the other way around. Countries using the CFA put their reserves under the control of the Banque de France governor to prevent their leaders from taking advantage of their position. In African countries where they control the Central Bank, the politicians in power can obtain Euros or $ at an artificially favorable rate while other citizens have to use the black market. They can also print worthless notes whenever they are in trouble, or dispossess citizens and foreigners by suddenly deciding that the old bank notes are now longer valid. This practice is known as "African Central Banking" but this is a misnomer. The same thing happened in USSR, Venezuela, etc...
Thanks for this piece. Tv wont show this.
This ties in with France backing the lybian rebels that fought against Gadaffi and later getting involved themselves with the USA. Gadaffi critisized the CFA Franc and wanted Africa to abandon it.
Gadaffi was one of the evilest human on earth.
@@ni9274 Not saying he was a good person, however the reason he was killed was not that he was a repressive evil dictator, but simply that he pissed off France and the US. Which was stupid from France as it turned one of the most stable and wealthy north African nations to the worst by far. It also played a great part in the refugee crisis in Europe.
I would really love to see a direct compare-and-contrast between this style of French neocolonialism and initiatives like Belt and Road. It’s been hard to parse what either system actually *is* thanks to the effort put into marketing and branding everything to make it look charitable and helpful, and it’s tough to figure out what the actual facts are. Neocolonialism is easier to find info on, but Belt and Road in particular is tough bc obviously China and their allies hype it up, while the west puts as much if not more effort into propaganda against it. An honest investigation and comparison would be really valuable for helping us having better conversations about the role of developed nations (whether from the east or west) in Africa.
Personally it’s a tough discussion because I think we clearly owe Africa a huge debt for the amount of development we’ve reaped in the Americas, Europe, and Asia off the back of Africa, but how do we actually repay that debt in a way that 1) properly compensates Africans for the harm we’ve done without 2) exacerbating the harm caused by the ongoing exploitation (I.e., funding dictatorships and child exploitation), and without 3) imposing a western style capitalist system on these countries? As a Canadian I have a lot of conversations about how we actually address colonialism and neocolonialism, and it’s a hard conversation bc there’s not an easy answer, and any meaningfully anti-colonialist approach is going to require a *lot* of time, care, and money.
At least you get rail and road wrt to China . With france only elites get richer
Why bother? West automatically equivocates everything China as "equally worse" or "definitely worse" without even spending a second looking deeper into it. Or have you missed the literal norm in the West?
@@Dragons_Armory That was kind of exactly OP's point.
@@kokorodokoro dudes name is literally “dragon’s armory” imma go on a hunch and say their probs not the least biased voice in this convo either Lmao
It's a moot conversation, neocolonialism is in the economic interests of western nations, and economic interests, particularly interests of the elite govern the final decisions of the powers that be.
The easiest solution would be by all means to cut of all interference, however the question of what constitutes interference will never be answered, because the people in charge of answering questions don't want the answer.
Free Africa✊
No hate africa
@Bionicle klause 2011 seems hes position bothers you . Good thing you dont make policies
I live in Kenya and the reason I hate africa is because i get bullied and i want to go to Europe
I live in Kenya and the reason I hate africa is because i get bullied and i want to go to Europe
@@rushdem1What?
epic work
Allright this video was clearly made by the British
Guys the 116 years war ended a long time ago
@@Caligulashorse1453 "O way down south in the land of traitors, rattlesnakes and alligators"
@@Chili.P lol nice
Sweden does not use Euro... We use the Svenska krona (Swedish crown) 5:14
Love that Parenti line in there!