Why has France such difficulty letting go the reins of its former colonies?
Colonization founded an empire which included the mainland France. In 1960, France believed that only Africa had to be decolonized when the French and their mentality also needed to be. Remember what Nicolas Sarkozy said in Dakar in 2007! He expounded on the African as if he was still in the capital of French West Africa! The streets in Paris still bear the names of the colonizers. The French do not know it, but we do! The image of colonial Africa has never been deconstructed in France. It serves the interests of the supporters of Franafrique. It sustains very contradictory relationships with the people of the former colonies who do not understand the French attitude, particularly as regards immigration. Isnt it a contradiction to claim independence and the right to emigrate? You cannot have repressed by violence people who asked for nothing, allowed capital and French citizens easy settlement in these countries and then, one fine day, decide that France is only for the French of Franc
