Shadow of Colonial Past Hinders France in Limiting Growing Chinese and Russian Influence in Africa

TOPSHOT - French President Emmanuel Macron and Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo (R) wave to the crowd through the roof of a car in Bissau, on July 28, 2022. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

France’s imminent reduction of troop levels in Africa has experts eyeing which major power will supplant Paris’s influence across the continent.

The tongues started wagging after French President Emmanuel Macron announced earlier this month that his country harbors no desire to return to past policies of interfering in Africa.