What Is France Hiding in the Sahel?

Reexamining and recalibrating its foreign policy towards Africa is something that may not appeal to France right now but it’s something that must be done.

Clinton Nzala
By Clinton Nzala

BAMAKO, MALI -- On the 8th of October, Choguel Maïga, the prime minister of Mali, boldly informed the world that its former colonial power, France, was sponsoring terrorists in the country’s northern region. Standing before dozens of cameras and microphones, he provided details on how the French army had established an enclave in the northern town

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As Macron Courts the Far-Right, France Launches Crackdown on “Islamo-Leftism”

Islamo-leftism is a label coined by the far-right, with many pointing out the distinct similarities between it and “Judeo-Bolshevism,” a term created by German Nazis linking religion with a set of political beliefs. Yet it has quickly been taken up by many in France’s political center.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
France Protest Feature photo

PARIS -- France’s Minister for Higher Education, Frederique Vidal, has sparked a nationwide controversy with her announcement that the government is attempting to stop the spread of what she called “Islamo-leftism” in universities. Part of the process, she said, would be for the state to decide "what is academic research and what is activism and

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France’s New Security Law May Have Just Sparked a “George Floyd” Moment

Sparked by a new bill that would make publishing photos of police illegal and a viral video soon after that shows French police brutally beating a black man, it appears that France may be headed for its own “George Floyd” moment.

Alan Macleod
By Alan Macleod
France Police Protest Feature photo

Award-winning Syrian photographer Ameer Alhalbi lies dazed on the ground. His head is heavily bruised and bandaged, blood covers his face, arms, and much of his body. Lengths of cotton wool have been stuffed up his broken nose, giving him an almost comical appearance. Alhalbi has been badly beaten by police. But this is not Syria, it is Paris,

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Hands off Lebanon: Macron’s Self-serving ‘New Pact’ Must Be Shunned

Devastated Lebanon is now receptive to another bout of ‘disaster capitalism’:  the notion that a country must be on its knees as a prerequisite to foreign economic takeover, political and, if necessary, military intervention.

Ramzy Baroud
By Ramzy Baroud
Lebanon Macron Feature photo

French President, Emmanuel Macron, is in no position to pontificate to Lebanon about the need for political and economic reforms. Just as thousands of Lebanese took to the streets of Beirut demanding “revenge” against the ruling classes, the French people have relentlessly been doing the same; both peoples have been met with police violence and

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Tearing Down the Idols of Colonialism: Why Tunisia Must Demand a French Apology

A debate is brewing in Tunisia on whether to demand an apology from France for the exploitation and trauma wrought by French colonialism, a move that could preclude a demand for compensation.

Ramzy Baroud
By Ramzy Baroud
France Tunisia Feature photo

The visit by newly-elected Tunisian President Kais Saied to France on June 22 was intended to discuss bilateral relations, trade, etc. But it was also a missed opportunity, where Tunisia could have formally demanded an apology from France for the decades of French colonialism, which has shattered the social and political fabric of this North

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France’s Fingerprints Are All Over Terrorist Groups in Idlib Syria

France’s support for extremist groups in Syria, particularly near Idlib, dates back to the earliest days of the 2011 CIA-backed anti-government rebellion.

Steven Sahiounie
By Steven Sahiounie
Syria Idlib Feature photo

Mideast Discourse -- FRANCE 24’s Wassim Nasr, a specialist in jihadist networks, recently spoke via Skype with French recruiter Omar Omsen, the head of the jihadist group Furkat-al-Ghuraba, an Al Qaeda affiliate in Idlib. There are numerous French terrorists in Idlib today, fighting to establish an Islamic state out of a small piece of secular

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