Macron bows to Lecornu: Unpublished stories behind France’s political crisis

 

Sebastien Lecornu and Emmanuel Macron. Photo credit: information.tv5monde.com

A new political crisis in France has resulted in Macron's resignation as leader. Sebastien Lecornu, the former defense minister, has now been officially announced as President Emmanuel Macron's replacement.

 

The day before the change, the National Assembly passed a vote of no confidence, toppling Prime Minister François Bayrou's center-right minority government. It was the second fall of a government in less than a year. The 39-year-old new prime minister has been serving as the defense minister.

 

News outlets reported on protesters in France, jubilating over the removal of Emmanuel Macron, as the former French leader is blamed for the current political crisis due to his failed policies. However, political analysts believe the new prime minister will not be able to tackle France's internal problems.

 

There are more than just internal problems in France, which is in political instability due to pressure from the EU to lower its budget deficit. The parliament is sharply divided, and it is unclear if the new administration will be able to pass the necessary budget measures.

 

It is impossible to overlook external problems involving former French colonies that have gained independence from their colonial overlord. Due to the military takeover of various Francophone African nations, which prevented the government from easily accessing the wealth of its former colonies, the nation is currently facing severe economic difficulties.

 

France lost authority over 14 African nations as they became independent, mostly in the middle of the 20th century, especially from the 1950s to the 1970s. Nonetheless, considering how much the European nation's economy depends on resources from Africa, France has maintained its positive connections.

 

In 2023, the French aid organization ACTED was outlawed by the military junta in the Republic of Niger. Additionally, the military canceled their licenses without providing a reason. To further sour relations with France, the coup plotter expelled France's ambassador.

 

Mali is another West African nation on the list. Relations were strained by the junta's unwillingness to establish a schedule for civilian administration following two military takeovers in 2020 and 2021 as well as claims of French meddling. Following the expulsion of France's ambassador by Mali, which ended their collaboration, France withdrew its troops and the Takuba force.

 

Sixty years after independence, Chad terminated its defense cooperation agreement with France, and in another development, Gabon’s relationship with France deteriorated, following a coup that ousted President Ali Bongo in 2023.

 

Burkina Faso is another Francophone nation with an untold history of tense relations with France, which resulted in Thomas Sankara's murder. The country severed all ties with France under Captain Ibrahim Traoré, with a bold statement that the plundering of his country is over.

 

Although the grass appears green from above, some areas underneath are dehydrated and therefore, not fresh. Following the continent's independence, every European nation that had colonies in Africa is dealing with a variety of difficulties, but France's is more severe than most people realize.

Burkina Faso's Stand: Ibrahim Traoré rejects France’ exploitation in his country

 

Captain Ibrahim Traoré

Among the wealthiest nations in Western Europe, France boasts both political potential and a high standard of living. Even though the French nation has long handed its colonies independence, in practice, the country still exerts strong influence on African nations, especially its former colonies, internal affairs, and maintains tight control over their economies. How does France continue to govern half of Africa, and what strategies does it use to seize control that Traoré of Burkina Faso would not accept? 

In French Africa, the currency known as the CFA franc, French colonial possessions, was created in 1945; however, after the colonies’ independence in the 1960s, the monetary system stayed the same. The African Financial Community is now represented by the acronym CFA, being used in 14 Francophone countries in the informal system, to improve mutual ties by using French as the official language of communication for diplomats, business, and the cultural and scientific domains.

 

On the one hand, the financial union provides a fixed exchange rate of the currency and its free exchange for the euro, which has a beneficial effect on the development of all participants in the association. However, on the other hand, in exchange for the guarantee of convertibility of the CFA franc, France's control of the partners has some interesting commitments.  For example, the agreement to transfer between 50 and 65 percent of its monetary reserves, which are kept in a special account, to the French Treasury.

 

The signing of unfair treaties between France and African nations is another way that France controls the foreign economy of its colonies in Africa. For instance, French campaigns are better able to close agreements for the exploitation of natural resources in the CFA. In other words, French firms mostly extract oil, uranium, and rare metals, and they enjoy substantial tax incentives that prevent the lessee from profiting financially from exporting their own resources.

 

When French firms mined uranium, they paid the government 80 cents per kilogram and then sold the uranium to the rest of the world for 200 euros per kilogram. After the Nigerian government increased its yearly resource realization from about $1 billion to over $3 billion, it finally took control of its uranium. Thomas Sankara's realization of this issue, which prompted him to sever his connections with France, ultimately led to his assassination; however, Ibrahim Traoré would not be deterred.

 

Like all the developed nations, including France and the United States of America, that don't want to accept "no" from African leaders, Ibrahim Traoré, who became the interim president of Burkina Faso after a coup on September 30, 2022, and has been in power since, has survived multiple assassination attempts on his life, planned by foreign governments. The former head of the United States Africa Command, Michael Elliott Langley, has revealed the long-standing tactic used by the US government.

 

He claims that while the Burkinabe people are hungry, Ibrahim is enhancing his security with the country's gold profits. Both Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Saddam Hussein of Iraq were assassinated as a result of the same tactic. The latter was even accused of storing weapons of mass destruction, but nothing of that nature was discovered during the US invasion of Iraq. I would like to know, Michael Langley, when the Burkina Faso people protested that Captain Ibrahim Traoré was starving them.

 

It is time for the developed world to recognize that as technology improves and Africa increasingly embraces its impact on the Dark Continent, there will be leaders who are unwilling to fall for their assassination, intimidation, and bullying schemes. Why should America and Europe grow into powerful nations using African resources when the continent from which those resources are extracted is still impoverished? That is unacceptable; therefore, Africa will free itself from mental slavery.

 

Burkina Faso is not alone; the West African country has established strong diplomatic ties with the revolutionary regimes in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Iran, as well as with Russia, the fiercest adversary of NATO, which is always willing to defend its nation. In the spirit of Thomas Sankara, Ibrahim Traoré has vowed to fight against imperialism and neocolonialism; therefore, if France or the US government doesn’t agree with him, then they should give him the respect he deserves.

ISRAEL APPROVES CHLOROQUINE FOR TREATING COVID - 19

The French Dr. Didier Raoult

The French doctor, Didier Raoult, who challenged the medical establishment's coronavirus response in recent weeks, has become popular for his support of the anti-malarial drug for coronavirus treatment. 


Dr. Didier Raul, 68, an infectious disease expert, revealed that hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine is good for the treatment of coronavirus patients. 

French President Emmanuel Macron met him for a few hours last week at his Marseille research institute, where he received Dr. Raoul's tour and presentation of the latest findings of his research on the new virus. 

Corona, contrary to the opinion of its advisers, who say that the drug's efficacy studies are still too small to prove that it is safe and effective in treating COVID-19 patients.

In Israel, in the meantime, the Prime Minister's Office announced that after much effort over the weekend, 2.4 million chloroquine pellets and many tons of raw material for the self-production of the drug landed in Israel over the weekend. 

The massive purchase deal is signed by the prime minister and the head of the institution, but health ministry officials say the firm is behind the recommendation to purchase the drug so that, if proven effective, it will have a large available stock before the global onslaught begins.

On YouTube and Twitter, Dr. Raoul argues that doctors and governments should use this drug extensively and not wait for serious clinical trials. Last week, "Our goal as doctors is to improve the condition of patients."

On the other hand, those who recommend a more cautious approach warn that the drug, which was originally used to treat malaria and some autoimmune diseases, has so far not proven its effectiveness in the treatment of COVID-19. 

From generation to generation, people have been witnessing the denial of recommended drugs for diseases because of politics and self-interest; therefore, it is likely that many will oppose Dr. Didier Raoult's recommendation.

Raul's firm position has earned him attention in France. "Parry Mach" magazine has published an extensive cover article on it. 

Even state authorities have removed warnings about the use of the drug, saying it can be listed "in the most extreme cases"cases" before serious damage to the patient's lungs.

Dr. Raul says he started using hydroxychloroquine to treat patients after seeing Chinese studies that found the drug killed the new coronavirus in laboratory tests. 

Meanwhile, in Israel, 12,000 people have been infected, and 126 deaths have occurred.