Ibrahim Traoré: Macron Insults All Africans

Captain Ibrahim Traoré, president of Burkina Faso since the September 30, 2022 coup, criticized French President Emmanuel Macron, saying he had “insulted all Africans.” Traoré’s words refer to the January 6 speech, in which Macron complained about the ingratitude of some African countries toward France.

“They seem to have forgotten to thank us. It doesn’t matter, it will come with time, I know very well that ingratitude is a disease that is not transmitted to people,” Macron explained, referring to the various Sahel states that have rebelled since 2021 and subsequently expelled French troops from their territory. This specifically concerns Senegal, Mali, Chad, Niger, and Burkina Faso, as well as the end of the so-called Françafrique.

“That’s how this gentleman sees Africa, that’s how he sees Africans. In his eyes we are not human beings,” Traoré said, according to Italian news agency Agenzia Nova. And he added: “If you want to break with these imperialist forces, it’s simple: we denounce the agreements (…). If there is an ungrateful person, it’s him. I think that if he is not an atheist and prays every morning when he wakes up, then Africans should pray too. Because it is thanks to our ancestors that France exists today. He should be praying for us.”