Open AccessAfrican politics in Paris during the pandemic
Author(s) -
Vasily Filippov
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
lokus: lûdi, obŝestvo, kulʹtury, smysly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2500-2988
DOI - 10.31862/2500-2988-2020-11-3-151-168
Subject(s) - politics , geopolitics , political science , context (archaeology) , pandemic , development economics , ministry of foreign affairs , dominance (genetics) , french , political economy , economy , economic growth , sociology , geography , covid-19 , public administration , law , economics , medicine , biochemistry , chemistry , disease , archaeology , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , gene
The article discusses the possible transformation of the geopolitical situation in the Francophone countries of Tropical Africa in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, based on the information published in the French media. And also, the analytical report, sent by experts of the Paris Center for Analysis, Forecasting and Strategy (CAPS), to the President and the French Foreign Ministry was used. The article contains a list of the main epidemiological, social, humanitarian, and political threats that will destabilize the situation on the Black Continent, as well asmade a prediction attempt of the dynamics of international relations in the post-coronavirus period. The aim of this study is to find out how the balance of forces of traditional and relatively new actors in international relations has been changed in the countries of Tropical Africa in the period of present observation. Particular attention is paid to the initiatives of the Champs Elysees, designed to preserve the traditional political, economic, and military dominance of the Fifth Republic in African countries, the territories of which were part of the French colonial empire. Emanuel Macron’s proposals regarding forgiveness of external debts and economic assistance to African countries are analyzed. It is concluded that the initiatives of the President of France cannot be implemented in political practice and are aimed only at countering the growth of anti-French mood in the Sahel. A political analysis of the situation comes to the conclusion that, as a result of the economic and political upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is very likely that the interests of France will be supplanted from Tropical Africa by China and, in part, by Russia.