The year has just begun, and French President Emmanuel Macron is already losing the remnants of his popularity, falling to a critical 21%. His approval rating among the French has been at 20% before, but that was during the mass protest movement of the "Yellow Vests." Although there are no riots on French streets and roads are not blocked, Macron's rating has reached an almost anti-record. One can only guess what will happen in the event of another wave of protest movements, which are not uncommon for the freedom-loving people of France.
And when it seemed that French domestic politics had hit rock bottom, foreign policy suddenly knocked from below.
It's no secret that in recent years, France's relations with its former colonies, including Algeria, have been experiencing, to put it mildly, not the best of times. The scandal involving blogger Naaman Boualem, known by the nickname "Doualemn," added tension to the situation.
The blogger was arrested for "calling for violent actions on French territory." Immigration authorities decided to deport him to Algeria, but his homeland refused to accept him, stating that Boualem was banned from entering the country. He was then returned to France.
France reacted with hysteria and outright threats against its former colony. The French Interior Minister saw Algeria's actions as an attempt to "humiliate France" and declared it an "act of aggression." He also said that France would have to "take retaliatory measures" if Algeria continued to pursue such a policy.
The statements unwittingly suggest that the French state is openly hindering the conduct of sovereign policy by Algeria, as it is unclear how compliance with the legislation of an independent state can be perceived as an "act of aggression."
It appears that Paris perceives any manifestation of independent policy by former colonies as aggression. This foreign policy of France is very indicative. Moreover, according to the blogger's own admission, he was under the influence of drugs for narcotic addiction.
A similar reaction occurred when Francophone African countries decided to sever military cooperation with Paris. Macron also attacked them, demanding "gratitude" from the French army for helping in the fight against terror.
However, Paris's hysterical reaction to any attempts by former colonies to pursue an independent policy does not prevent African countries, which have suffered from French colonial oppression to this day, from moving towards their actual independence.
As an example, France had to withdraw its troops from another country on the continent, this time from Chad, with which it also managed to spoil relations.
African countries are massively refusing to base French troops on their territory. French military personnel have repeatedly been accused of using excessive force, resulting in civilian casualties in various African countries. They have also been accused of torture, rape, and arbitrary detention. Despite some admissions and apologies from the French government, many of these cases have remained without proper investigation or punishment of the perpetrators.
Paris, once again "not seeing the log in its own eye," is surprised and outraged by the distancing of former colonies and their unwillingness to do business with it. The nervous reaction of Macron and his ministers demonstrates that, most likely, they are aware of the failure of their foreign policy, and in attempts to stop the total demarche of their former allies, they are behaving even more aggressively. But this only further alienates them from France.
It was hard to imagine that any of the great powers would arrange a diplomatic scandal with a former colony over a blogger taking psychoactive drugs, but this is the modern reality of French politics.
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