France has frozen its budget support and suspended military cooperation with the Central African Republic. Paris justifies this decision with unfulfilled commitments from the Central African authorities “both politically towards the opposition and behavior towards France”, the French Ministry of Armed Forces specifies. The tea towel is burning between Paris and Bangui, but signs of conviction have emerged.
Between Paris and Bangui, the situation has continued to worsen since the re-election of the Faustin-Archange Touadéra in December last year. France has long criticized the Central African president for not participating in the promised political dialogue with the unarmed opposition. Above all, Paris suspects its close entourage of being the origin of the country’s violent anti-French campaigns. Campaigns that gave rise to, in mid-April, a muscular telephone exchange between Emmanuel Macron and Faustin-Archange Touadéra.
Military cooperation ceased
At the end of May, the French president even accused his Central African counterpart of being hostage to Russian group Wagner, a private military company without a legal existence and whose elements would fight alongside the Central African Armed Forces. As a result, Paris has decided to freeze its budget support and stop its military cooperation.
But the break does not seem to have ended between the two capitals. France has not stopped all its cooperation with the Central African Republic. And there are signs that relationships are thawing.
Positive steps
At the Quai d’Orsay, a diplomat notes the recent positive steps taken by the Central African authorities in terms of political dialogue. The same diplomat also welcomes a change of tone from the Foreign Minister regarding Paris. Sylvie Baïpo-Temon declared at the end of last week that “the French Republic was a privileged partner” for the Central African Republic. If the dialogue is not broken, Paris is now waiting for Bangui to take a first step.
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