The French colonizer dominated vast areas of the African continent after its invasion in the 17th century, marking the beginning of the European colonization phase of the resource-rich and diverse African continent. France employed the most brutal forms of violence and oppression against the African peoples it preyed upon, scorching them under the yoke of its unprecedented cruelty and tyranny, which characterized the French colonial model distinctively from other modern European colonial schools.

The French Colonial School:   

France adopted a colonial approach unique to itself, which became a school with its own characteristics. Some aspects of it align with general colonial methods, while it is distinguished by its pure French character. 

The French colonial school was based on many foundations, including: 

- The use of excessive force, violence, cruelty, and genocide against the colonized peoples. 

- Direct administration of the colonized areas through iron and fire. 

- The destruction of local identities and the eradication of the local languages under its control, replacing them with the French language to promote the French colonial project known as "Francophonie," referring to countries or peoples speaking French who are not French. 

- The distortion of the African mind in terms of color and race, transforming it into a French way of thinking and affiliation. 

- The exploitation of the resources of colonized peoples and utilizing them for the flourishing of France and the construction of its military and economic power. 

- The suppression of resistance movements, committing massacres, and launching extensive conversion campaigns to turn Africa into a Christian continent. 

- The impoverishment of Africans and keeping them under the yoke of the triad of colonialism: "ignorance, poverty, and disease."

Post-World War II and the Independence Era:

France continued its campaigns of extermination and oppression against African peoples since the early days of colonization, committing horrific acts of genocide against resistance movements, especially the Islamic ones. Significant evidence of this is the massacre of over 400 Muslim scholars in Chad during an event known as the "Kabkab" massacre in 1917.

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and France’s entrance into the conflict, it required soldiers from its colonies as fuel in a battle that had nothing to do with them. It promised them, in exchange, independence if it won the war, as a favor rather than a natural right for peoples striving for their freedom and independence and self-determination.

Despite the victory of the Allies, the colonizer's betrayal was not trustworthy. France reneged on its promise, delayed, and stalled; however, it was compelled to respond reluctantly after extensive delay, due to the insistence of educated Africans who had studied in France and returned to demand liberation and independence by forming associations, organizations, and parties led by figures from African national movements like Lumumba and Ngouabi among others. France was ultimately forced to concede to the demands of the African peoples for freedom and independence in the 1960s.

The Phase of Apparent Independence:

France exited some of its African colonies under the pressure of liberation movements, which became active and made numerous sacrifices for the sake of gaining independence and freedom, enabling the people of these countries to govern themselves and manage their resources, and introducing development programs to eliminate the trifecta of the pillars of French colonialism – poverty, ignorance, and disease. France seemingly left through the front door, but in reality, it did not truly exit; although some may think so, it actually returned through the window, for several reasons:

1. Those who took the leadership of these states were products of French colonialism: shaped by its culture, language, ideas, and complete dependency.
2. France tied the fates of these countries to dependency on it and controlled their natural resources, which it used for its industries providing prosperity to its own citizens, while depriving Africans of their revenues; thereby keeping them under the yoke of the French trifecta imposed on them.
3. The economies of former African colonies were linked to the French franc, to the extent that some countries had their central banks in France rather than in their capitals. This can only be described as a form of guardianship over these countries seeking freedom and development.

The French Policy in Post-Independence African Countries:

The French policy in Africa was entrenched through a continuous methodology that aimed to root and solidify its deadly trifecta against the people, while fueling its wealth and power at the expense of these people whom it had enslaved. The situation worsened and became more complicated and destructive when France replaced direct colonialism with early independence leaders, whose administrations were plagued by failure, dependency, and an inability to rid themselves of the shackles of French colonialism in its second form.

France soon realized their failure and replaced them with leaders more subordinate and devoted to France than to their own nations and peoples, through successive military coups among competing military officers who cared only for power, with a complete ignorance of state management, and a lack of concepts of freedom, development, and stability; resulting in civil wars that claimed the lives of thousands of innocent men, women, and children, turning these countries into zones of extermination and famine, despite their abundant and diverse resources that could ensure their prosperity and growth.

The Phase of African Awareness and Pre-Setback:

This short-sighted and unethical policy elicited a reaction from the African elite, who became aware of the backwardness, poverty, wars, and dependence plaguing their countries; they began to advocate for a way out from under French hegemony, which had neither provided stability nor aided in development, but was the primary and direct cause of the persistence and stability of the trifecta of ignorance, poverty, and disease.

The African elite concluded that they could not build a future under this dual existence, both civilian and military, characterized by the presence of military bases in the region that had become unwelcome, as they were more a source of unrest than of stability.

The External Factor Assisting Africans in the Setback of France

During a phase of African awareness of the burdens imposed by French colonization—its influence stifling freedoms and looting resources—the solution emerged to rid these countries of this influence. This coincided with the entry of three powers into the scene amidst the wave demanding the expulsion and eradication of French influence: two of them being major international powers and the third being a rising regional power expanding its reach.

- The first international power was marked by its military aspect (Russia), which began to expand after retreating following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Under the leadership of its current president, Vladimir Putin, Russia made Africa a target for establishing military bases to counter NATO's influence, its archenemy. It seized the opportunity presented by African discontent with French presence to intervene and aim for the removal of France from its former colonies.

- The second international power is China, which entered the African arena economically, opening avenues for Africans to benefit from China's desire to expand economically into Africa. This created an opportunity for Africans to improve their economic situations and utilize their natural resources for comprehensive development.

- The third regional power is Turkey, which also entered the fray economically, albeit to a lesser extent than China. Turkey's involvement is characterized by an existing historical relationship with the African continent tracing back to the days of the Ottoman Empire in those regions.

The Setback and Disgraceful Exit

All the conditions that heralded France's setback in the African continent converged, the first of which was the policy adopted by successive French governments over decades, disregarding the needs and aspirations of African peoples, as well as the course of history and the principles of change.

- This was evident with the political awakening among the younger African generations and their loss of hope in changing French policy.

- The necessity for change and getting out from under the burdensome tutelage.

- The entry of significant political players with political, economic, and military ambitions and interests in the continent, which could only be realized by removing French influence.

Fortuitously, this was accompanied by the rise of a national movement opposing the dominating French influence over public life in these parts of the continent, which quickly opened doors for the entry of Chinese and Turkish economic initiatives. The outcome was the entrenchment of Russian military forces and the expulsion of the French military forces that had been entrenched in their lands under the pretext of combating terrorism and other justifications.

France's conclusion was a disgraceful exit from those lands under significant popular pressure, with the sentiments of the Africans echoing the words of the Libyan poet Ahmed Rafiq Al-Mahdawi when the Italian forces left Libya after their defeat in World War II: