Macron’s Arrogant Blunder: “France Awaits Gratitude from the Sahel for Fighting Extremists”

BY: Dr. Hana Saada

Algiers, Algeria | January 06th, 2024 — In a new display of condescension, French President Emmanuel Macron has once again sparked outrage across the Sahel region with a brazen statement that reveals a colonial mindset lingering beneath France’s foreign policy. Speaking at the 2025 annual conference on foreign policy before French ambassadors, Macron provocatively asserted that France is still waiting for gratitude from Sahel nations for its military intervention against extremist groups—a claim met with widespread indignation.

Dismissing the fact that French forces were forcefully expelled from several Sahel countries following a wave of popular and political rejection, Macron refused to acknowledge the reality of his country’s diminishing influence. With an air of unwarranted superiority, he declared, “I believe they forgot to thank us, but that’s alright. It will come in due time.”

His remarks, laced with sarcasm and dripping with arrogance, completely disregard the widespread rejection of French military presence in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso—countries where anti-French sentiment reached its peak, leading to the expulsion of French troops. Paris is also in the process of withdrawing forces from Chad, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire amid growing resistance to its lingering neo-colonial footprint.

Macron further escalated tensions with a deeply offensive statement, claiming that none of these Sahel nations would have achieved sovereignty without France’s military intervention since 2013. This blatant distortion of historical realities ignores the growing calls for genuine self-determination in the region, instead reducing the complex history of Sahelian struggles to a narrative of dependency on French military presence.

Attempting to spin France’s forced departure as a voluntary strategic shift, Macron added, “France has not been expelled. We are simply reorganizing our strategy. France is not retreating from Africa but rather restructuring its presence.”

Such statements not only expose Macron’s refusal to acknowledge France’s declining influence but also reveal a deep-rooted paternalism that continues to shape its foreign policy in Africa. By ignoring the widespread discontent and sovereign demands of Sahel nations, Macron’s words have reinforced the perception of France as a power unwilling to reckon with its colonial legacy and the legitimate aspirations of African states for true independence.

The French president’s remarks have ignited fierce criticism across the region, with many viewing his comments as a desperate attempt to rewrite the narrative of France’s forced departure. His failure to acknowledge the consequences of years of political interference, economic exploitation, and military overreach further distances Paris from the evolving realities of a continent seeking genuine partnerships, not condescension.

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