Reviewed by: Le déclin franco-africain par Frédéric Lejeal Hope Hecht Lejeal, Frédéric. Le déclin franco-africain. L'Harmattan, 2022. ISBN 978-2-14-020547-7. Although most Franco-African countries have been free from colonial rule for over five decades, the twenty-first century brought a new wave of freedom from French control and reclamation of culture. Here, Lejeal follows France's retreat out of Africa over the past fifty years as relations have decayed. Lejeal mainly focuses on the geopolitical, economic, and social aspects of France's recent involvement in Africa, and the consequences of modern mistreatment. The research is extensive; many of the interviews of the political, cultural, and religious leaders are conducted by the author himself. The political sections of the work concentrate on the Sahel and Sub-Saharan and Western African countries that have been affected most by neocolonialism. Lejeal illustrates that the democracies France "helped" to create were not in the interest of the citizens themselves, and African leaders were often seen as marionettes for French leaders (17). The use of militarism had negative effects on the people and the government, as seen in Djibouti where many citizens and journalists were arrested simply for protesting French involvement (179). France's influence and presence is seen in the Ivory Coast as well, and countries like Ghana and Liberia were groomed to be "comme une France miniature. Presqu'un un département" (Lejeal 187). Lejeal explains that France's use of militarism and democracy enraged the younger generation and the nouvelles élites who saw that France had no justification of their military and political presence (17-29). Lejeal illustrates that France's continued involvement is due to nostalgia and the desire for monetary gain. Lejeal notes that while countries like the United States and China invested in many African countries by means of business and aid by creating infrastructure, France used heavy tariffs and business partnerships in its former African colonies, which created a relationship of reliability rather than stability (276). The comparison of France and other Western countries and global powerhouses demonstrates how France's more recent treatment of Franco-African countries was similar to their colonial past, a history of abuse repeated. The motives for Franco-African countries separation can be described as "économique, militaire, monétaire, mémoriel, culturel––qui valident le ressentiment africain" (437). Lejeal describes the most recent part of postcolonial Africa's healing as a reclamation of culture and art, a repossession of a stolen past (401). In general, the reader should know some colonial history of France and Africa, however Lejeal gives context and tends to write about one nation before transitioning to the next, which prevents confusion on the readers' part. Since the work covers a wide expanse of nations, topics, and geopolitical events, scholars could focus on one of the several sections for research or use it for a classroom resource. [End Page 302] Hope Hecht University of Colorado Boulder Copyright © 2023 American Association of Teachers of French
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May 17, 2023
Lee Hwon 
Open Access
