It has been one year since French troops bombarded Mali under the pretext of quelling a coalition of disparate extremists groups in the North of the country. The French President Francois Hollande, declared the mission accomplished announcing the reduction of troops to some 1600 stating “We now have the situation in hand”. On a New Year visit to Mali by the French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Drian he said the country was “liberated” claiming a year ago Jihadi’s were “torturing people and chopping hands off here”. [1] There is little goodwill, but considering there are other significant factors that suggest the intervention was fabricated in order to secure other interests such as the military coup in 2012, which shifted Mali to the American sphere of influence as well as the abundance of Uranium present in Mali needed to fuel nuclear energy, which according to the World Nuclear Association, 75% of European electricity is produced from nuclear energy. [2] However looking beyond the surface of the mainstream media narrative there are a number of observations that can be made following the anniversary of the Mali intervention

The Declining influence of the French

The French intervention came as a surprise for many adding even further scepticism to their justifications. Such French led military intervention has not been seen for time and the recent history of France has been one of working through coalitions and engaging in diplomacy with other nations to protect it’s interests. In the case of Mali, France got little military contribution from other European countries and even turned to the GCC member nations for support.[3] In the end it was the US who offered transport aircraft and other forms of practical support but no combat troops.[4] Paris is a weakening competitor to the likes of its European acquaintances sitting in Berlin and London. Moreover, the French face serious economic problems with a national debt approaching two trillion dollars and therefore unable to fight any war on its own, thus relying on coalitions to conduct its foreign policy. Its recent interventions in Libya and Mali are a frantic effort to maintain its former colonies.

French or Not, Democracy always leaves corruption

The West champion the call for democracy, yet wherever they have interfered in the name of democracy they have left inept regimes who are embroiled in corruption charges and impunity at every level of the state as in the case of Mali. Only last month 6 judges and judicial officers were taken in custody for unscrupulous charges and over a 100 cases of corruption have been referred by the President. [5] A former anti-corruption official said “Unfortunately, corruption and sloppy management have nearly destroyed every advance we have made since independence”. 4-5% of the national budget ($75M) is simply lost annually to mismanagement and fraud in the form of “unrecovered taxes, money embezzled, kickbacks and the like.” [6] We have witnessed similar trends in Afghanistan, Iraq and continue to see the largest corruption scandals in the world’s largest democracies such as India. French intervention in Mali and CAR are no different and high official level corruption is more prevalent than ever depriving the population of the fruits of its wealth.

France is the New Sick Man of Europe

Whilst the French were leading change in the West in the 1800’s. Today’s France is a very different place. France has lost its intellectual vigour and has failed to sustain domestic support for its national and international policies with commentators dubbing them as the ‘Sick man of Europe’. [7] France is in its deepest recession since the Second World War with unemployment at nearly 10.5% of the working population, [8] Hollande’s credibility is waning. Besides his affair that has recently become public, the support he generated with his socialist economic policies has now degenerated making him the least popular President of the Fifth Republic.[9] His strategy failed and is now taking a U turn by cutting public spending by 50 billion Euros. Moreover with the unhinged resentment for foreigners, France is consumed with anti-immigration policies. It has failed to integrate foreign cultures leading to tension internally. The recent meddling in Africa is an attempt to bewilder the French shifting their eyes to the perceived threat from Central African Republic (CAR). The French are now in their second month in CAR in an attempt to retain influence in its former colony whilst shifting the country’s focus to it’s foreign policy in order to contain the defects that are coming to the surface of it’s economy.

Kasim Javed

Notes

[1] http://www.minnpost.com/christian-science-monitor/2014/01/mali-one-year-later-frances-mission-accomplished-much-left-do

[2] http://www.globalresearch.ca/is-the-french-invasion-of-mali-tied-to-a-colonial-war-for-uranium/5321133

[3] http://news.antiwar.com/2013/01/15/france-irked-by-minimal-european-aid-in-mali-war/

[4] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/isolated-in-europe-france-appeals-to-gulf-for-help-with-mali-mission-8452939.html

[5] http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Mali-charges-judges-with-corruption-20131211-2

[6] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/world/africa/for-malis-new-president-corruption-issue-lingers.html

[7] http://www.bloomberg.com/video/is-france-the-sick-man-of-europe-7MjRXyXTSMa6LsUSpzOyng.html

[8] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/10539207/Francois-Hollande-in-denial-over-Frances-unemployment.html

[9] http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21593456-president-talking-reform-it-his-interest-and-his-countrys-he-should-carry-it?zid=309&ah=80dcf288b8561b012f603b9fd9577f0e