RUDE INTERRUPTION: Macron Went to Kenya to Rebrand France. Then He Acted Like France.

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]French President Emmanuel Macron's attempt to rehabilitate the image of France in Africa was an epic fail because he couldn't stop himself from acting like a colonizer.

[00:00:11]Already?

[00:00:13]You're not waiting your turn.

[00:00:15]And we make order. Uh ex- excuse me.

[00:00:18]Everybody.

[00:00:20]Hey. Hey. Hey.

[00:00:23]I'm sorry, guys.

[00:00:25]But it it's impossible to speak about culture to have people like that super inspired coming here making a speech with such a noise.

[00:00:35]>> So, in a room full of Africans, there was a panel of African luminaries addressing an audience. And the audience, being typically African, were reacting to the panel members on stage by saying some things to them.

[00:00:50]And the French President, who was an audience member, climbed onto the stage uninvited. You can hear the moderator saying, "Already? You won't wait your turn?" And then, Macron went and picked the microphone and started scolding the audience members, asking them to keep quiet while the panel was going on.

[00:01:12]Who made you their daddy?

[00:01:13]Funny enough, before Macron did that, the President of Ghana gave a speech at the France-Africa summit currently going on in Nairobi, Kenya. And the President of Ghana talked about the fact that the relationship between France and Africa going forward need to be based on fairness and not paternalism.

[00:01:33]Macron responded by acting in a way that proves that France can never let go of its paternal instincts when it comes to dealing with Africans.

[00:01:46]And this is why, when we're having conversations about colonialism and the effect of white supremacy, it is not a conversation that is rooted in the past.

[00:01:58]It's a conversation that is rooted in the fact that the past have shaped the way Europeans deal with Africa.

[00:02:08]Do you think that Macron will go to a meeting in the White House and uninvited pick up the microphone and address American media not to yell at him because American media always yells at Macron whenever he's in the US. He's never told him to shut up. He's never even opened his mouth to talk when Trump is talking.

[00:02:33]You understand why it's such a shame that in spite of how much Macron personally keep disrespecting Africa, a lot of African leaders still care for him.

[00:02:46]My name is Sena Alabid Tony. I'm a Ghanaian writer who lives in the US. On this channel, I like to talk about the role of Africa on the world stage. So, if you to understand Africa intellectually, subscribe to this channel. So, I'll start by saying this.

[00:02:59]There is a summit going on currently in Nairobi, Kenya. The official name of the summit is Africa Forward Summit. And it is themed around Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth.

[00:03:14]It is a way of France trying to rebrand their identity in Africa.

[00:03:20]So, for the past decade, a lot of Africans are getting woke to the fact that France is still perpetuating a lot of colonial activities in Africa.

[00:03:34]So, let me put it this way. Before Ibrahim Traoré took over as president of Burkina Faso, there was already an ongoing cry against what France is doing across Francophone Africa.

[00:03:50]Ibrahim Traoré only took advantage of the sentiment brewing in Francophone Africa to put himself in power illegally.

[00:03:58]The conversation has been going on since maybe 2016. I remember in 2017, the president of Ghana at the time, Akufo-Addo, called out Macron to his face about how France does business with Africa, right? And as it stands now, every Francophone country in Africa, almost every one of them, have their currency still currently controlled by France.

[00:04:25]So, France sets the monetary policies for almost every Francophone country in Africa.

[00:04:32]And a lot of people are not happy with it.

[00:04:34]Because while African countries are independent in name, Francophone African countries are still highly dependent in France, and France still interferes in the affairs of these countries directly in a lot of cases, sometimes even having military presence in these places.

[00:04:55]One good thing about social media is before the last 10 years, a lot of people in Anglophone Africa were not aware of how much control France have over Francophone countries in Africa.

[00:05:13]A lot of us knew of France through the work Alliance Française does in Anglophone countries in Africa. So, Ghanaians would always talk positively about France because Alliance Française does a lot of work in Ghana to promote the identity of France as a positive, culturally respecting place.

[00:05:37]While France is still oppressing Francophone countries in Africa.

[00:05:42]And because social media have made it easy for us to understand what is happening in our neighboring countries.

[00:05:51]Almost every young person in Africa has the right image of France.

[00:05:58]And I'll explain what I mean by that.

[00:06:00]I'm someone who reads a lot. I've been reading since I was 7 years old and I learned how to read. I've been reading newspapers since I was 7 years old, right? And I know a lot about Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Gambia. These are the five English-speaking countries in West Africa.

[00:06:18]I don't know so much about the Francophone countries in West Africa, which are about nine, because I'll have to read about them in French.

[00:06:30]So, language has been a big barrier for us in Anglophone Africa to learn about Francophone Africa. But, social media, Google Translate, ChatGPT have made it easier for us to learn about their culture, even if it is written in French, it's easy to translate and learn it. So, all of us are getting woke to that, and it is threatening the power France have in Africa. So, France is trying to rebrand with the France-Africa summit or the Africa Forward summit, which is happening for the first time in an Anglophone country in Africa, Kenya.

[00:07:12]And leaders from 30 African countries were in attendance, including the president of Ghana, John Mahama, who these days is like a personal friend of Macron.

[00:07:23]What are the summit? And the one happening on the campuses of University of Nairobi is a conversation around culture, creative arts, and entertainment, right?

[00:07:34]So, of course, it has a lot of creative people and young people in attendance.

[00:07:38]And they were in the audience.

[00:07:40]When the French president interrupted proceedings to disrespect them. So, you gather Africans because you need us.

[00:07:51]You gather Africans because your power is getting diluted on the continent.

[00:07:58]And we want to give you a listening ear because Africans still need help. So, we give listening ears to people we shouldn't even be caring about. So, we're giving you a listening ear and you chose that the right way to use the opportunity we are giving you is disrespecting us? Who made you our father?

[00:08:20]This is why the conversations around slavery, colonialism, operation are present conversations. Whenever somebody tells you about colonialism or slavery and tell you to think about the past or let the past go. No, no, no, no, no, no. The past is present. Because the actions of men like Macron is telling you that they do not respect you as an African. It is not because they are better than you. It's only because some time ago their forefathers chose their big guns to conquer you. We need to be aware of where we are now.

[00:08:59]We are at a crossroad. And the crossroad is who do Africans want to be going forward?

[00:09:06]Do we want to still be under the thumb of men like Macron or we want to be independent of them? And if you want to be independent of them, one of the leaders of Africa, it doesn't matter which country it is, need to publicly call out Macron for that.

[00:09:28]Need to publicly address Macron to his face that yo, in our continent, when we are at a public gathering and somebody is making a point, we respond to them either by talking, clapping, or laughing. It's not disrespectful for us to have a reaction to anything being said on stage. You know, in the US, there's this stereotype that if you go to a movie cinema where there are black people, there'll be a lot of talking because black people react and black people share the same lineage as us Africans. It's so it's the same thing in Africa. Africans react to things.

[00:10:12]Europeans have lost their humanity by killing their emotions.

[00:10:18]And so they act like robots when things are happening on stage and they expect other people to act like robots. And those of us who work in corporate spaces play the game when we are in their spaces. But when we are in our spaces, they have to play our game.

[00:10:41]When I go to work in corporate America, I do what corporate America wants me to do because it's all about the Benjamins.

[00:10:49]But when I leave there and I come to an African event, and an American white person comes there, I would expect them to shut the hell up when I'm acting like an African.

[00:11:04]So, when Macron is in an audience of Africans, he's supposed to shut the hell up and take whatever Africans are giving him.

[00:11:13]Our leaders need to point that out to him and ask him to apologize for doing that.

[00:11:18]If they don't, I've lost all sort of respect for them. I mean, I didn't respect African leaders to begin with, but my disrespect will be solidified if none of the thirsty African leaders in Kenya right now doesn't step up to call out Macron for what he did. My name is Tony. I'm a Kenyan writer who lives in the US. On this channel I like to delve into the role of Africa on the world stage. So subscribe if you want to understand Africa intellectually.

[00:11:45]Keep raising your head high as an African. We'll talk later.