The 1944 Declaration That Shaped France's Col

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]You know, when I see Emmanuel Macron today, my mind takes me back to history.

[00:00:07]And that history is 1944 in what was then known as French Equatorial Guinea in Brazzaville.

[00:00:17]In 1944, just before the end of the Second World War, Charles de Gaulle, who was then in the opposition to the Germans who had occupied France, summoned the colonies in Brazzaville, which is modern-day Congo Republic.

[00:00:40]During that meeting, the result was the Brazzaville Declaration, in which France said that for their survival, they needed the colonies.

[00:00:54]And if you proceed a little more after the war in the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1958, it is the same Charles de Gaulle who tells the colonies, "You either vote no or yes." Yes to mean that you get some autonomy but remain within France. We control your foreign affairs. We control your economy. It is only Guinea under Sekou Touré that votes no, and they destroyed Guinea.