The withdrawal of 3 African countries from the Francophonie. Causes and repercussions
 
Afrasianet - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the alliance of Sahel countries is witnessing a dynamic development that opens new horizons for its cooperation with Moscow. 

This statement came in a speech delivered by Lavrov at the beginning of the meeting  he held with his counterparts from Mali, Burkina Faso and  Niger within the framework of the "Russia-Trio-Sahel" formula in Moscow on Thursday, where he said: "We note with satisfaction the great progress in the process of integration among the countries of the alliance, which provides wider opportunities to strengthen our cooperation in several vital areas."
Lavrov explained that these areas include trade, economy, investments, transport and logistics sectors, as well as banking cooperation between financial institutions, adding that the two sides have achieved tangible results in many of these areas. 

Lavrov expressed confidence that joint action in the form of the Quartet consisting of Russia and the Alliance of Sahel States will give additional impetus to bilateral cooperation and contribute significantly to the development of the Russia-Africa partnership.

During a meeting with Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop in Moscow, Lavrov also pointed to the existence of intensive military and security cooperation between Moscow and Bamako, adding that Russia is training cadres of the Malian armed forces, as well as training cadres in civilian specialties, which Lavrov described as an important "human dimension" for joint action.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed that Russia reaffirms its commitment to support the Sahel Alliance in building an independent foreign policy and establishing a new regional security system based on its own capabilities, in accordance with the principle of "African solutions to African problems."

The "Alliance of Sahel States" was created in September 2023 with the membership of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, and last July the three countries announced that their alliance had become a confederation of about 72 million people in order to "cross an additional stage towards deeper integration among member states."

In January 2025, the three countries formally withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),  which has imposed economic sanctions on Niger for several months, accusing the organization of being a Paris-driven tool and of not providing it with sufficient support in the fight against extremist militants.

It is clear that there is  a decline in French cultural influence in Africa, after Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal from the Francophone Organization, in addition to the military, political and economic decline of Paris in the African continent.

The withdrawal of the three countries last March comes in the context of a tug-of-war between France and those countries that recently established their own "confederation", especially since they succeeded in pushing Paris to withdraw militarily from their territories.

For their part, the three countries considered their withdrawal from Francophonie due to "retaliatory sanctions" imposed by the organization, especially after the suspension of Niger's membership after the July 2023 coup.

The Paris-based International Organization of la Francophonie brings together representatives of 88 countries and governments and its main tasks are "to promote the French language, cultural and linguistic diversity, peace, democracy, human rights and support for education".

The organization was founded on March 20, 1970, when 21 countries signed an agreement in Niamey, Niger, to establish an agency for cultural and technical cooperation to promote cooperation in culture, education and scientific research.

The French military presence in the African Sahel countries has declined significantly, after Paris withdrew from some countries such as Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Senegal in West Africa during the past year and the beginning of this year. 

 Cultural transformations

 Fouad Bouali, a Moroccan expert on the African continent, says African countries are "undergoing cultural, intellectual and political transformations".
"The elites who are ascending to power in African countries are educated elites who view the old colonizer as a burden on the path of development," he added.

Bouali, a linguist, explained that "some African countries are beginning to experience a change in their relationship with the Francophone component."
He pointed out that "the main theme of this change is that there is a general and common trend in some African countries that rejects the French presence in Africa."

"Some countries have dared to represent this popular will in Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso, while others are still groping for a breakaway from France with minimal losses," Bouali said. 

These social and intellectual transformations and the accompanying exit of a group of countries from the organization, according to the Moroccan expert, "come in the context of attempts by African countries to break the economic and military relationship with France, which is a natural consequence of the limitations of this model, which makes countries move away from the old colonizer."

"The linguistic, cultural and social changes on the continent will weaken the organisation that lives on economic, political and linguistic hegemony," he said, adding that this path "may seem long, but its first steps have begun to disengage from France."

Linguistic independence

The Moroccan expert explained that "linguistic independence is inseparable from political independence, and that it cannot be politically independent without being linguistically independent."

He believes that "rotation in the Francophone orbit cost African countries a lot, and there are many models of countries that preferred to stay away from this orbit."

He cited the example of Rwanda, noting that it "achieved a historic breakthrough and rise in development by simply changing the language of instruction to English." 

"The French language in development has been overtaken by events and developments, and it does not allow recipients and learners to be open to the latest developments in the world of technology, technology and knowledge," he said.

"The countries that chose to stay away from the French language are the countries that found their way towards development and knowledge, and this feeling began to spread among African elites, who began to find this language a burden on them," he said.