Young Africans want France’s hands off continent: Algeria

ALGIERS, Algeria

Algerian Information Minister Ammar Belhimer said Wednesday that African youth have recently raised their voices to demand France to take its hands off their continent and its resources.

"Africans, especially the youth, are committed to the demand that France takes its hands off their continent,” Belhimer told the private Algerian News Network.

The minister’s statements come amid tensions between Algeria and France following remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron last month that were viewed by many Algerians as insulting.

Algeria responded by recalling its ambassador in Paris and banning French military aircraft from using Algerian airspace on Oct. 3.

Belhimer described France as a colonial power “as long as it continues to drain Africa's resources.”

He said not only Africans but also French and European politicians agree that France is plundering Africa’s wealth.

He added that the anti-France stance “is evidenced by the bold, angry and honest interventions of the Africans who recently participated in the so-called Africa-France Summit."

On Oct. 8, hundreds of young people from African “civil society” gathered for a one-day Africa-France summit in the southern French city of Montpellier.

For the first time since 1973 when France-Africa summits began and before it was rebranded, Africa-France, no African head of state was invited.

Macron invited 3,000 people for the summit, including young entrepreneurs, researchers, students, artists, sports personalities, and representatives from associations on the African continent who met their French national counterparts and members of the African diaspora to discuss economic, political, and cultural matters.

The summit came at a time when France's influence was being challenged in its former colonies.

France framed the gathering as one meant to “provide a new foundation” for the relationship.

Belhimer said Africa is witnessing a “resurgence of African nationalism” that is compelling foreign countries “to respect the sovereignty (of African states)” and to “stop draining their wealth under any slogan."

"Algeria's current and future relations with France will only be based on its respect for our sovereignty, civilization, and identity, and its liberation from the complex of the former colonizer," Belhimer said.

On Sunday, more than 100 Algerian MPs across different political parties submitted a bill criminalizing the French colonization of Algeria (1830-1962).

Algeria spent 132 years under French colonial rule, gaining independence in 1962.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar