Diplomatic crises are linked for France, after tensions with the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Algeria, or Mali, it is relations with Belarus are strained. We take a look back at the four major diplomatic crises of recent months.
DIPLOMATIC CRISES WITH BELARUS
France’s support for Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has led to a further increase in tensions between France and Belarus (Belarus). The French ambassador to Belarus had to leave the country on Sunday, October 17, 2021, at the express request of the authorities. A departure that comes as Svetlana Tikhanovskaya finishes a three-day visit to Paris.
Minsk justified this forced departure by the failure to present the credentials of Ambassador Nicolas de Bouillane de Lacoste to the Belarus government. A simple facade apology for the spokesperson for the leader of the opposition, Valery Kavaleuski, who considers that “Ambassador Nicolas de Lacoste was forced to leave Belarus from the moment France assumed the principle of ‘an illegitimate Lukashenko’.
In August 2020, the contested re-election of Alexander Lukashenko as head of Belarus resulted in a wave of protests and violent repression. Svetlana Tsikhanovskaïa and some members of the opposition had to flee the country to avoid imprisonment. In September 2020, Emmanuel Macron had met the latter in Lithuania.
The President of the French Republic then pledged to take an active role in this political crisis and invited Svetlana Tsikhanovskaïa to deliver a speech to the French Parliament. In March 2021, Emmanuel Macron called for the “immediate release” of the opponents after the hijacking of a plane by Minsk which had allowed the arrest of two opponents of the Lukashenko regime.
THE VISA CRISIS WITH ALGERIA
This month of October 2021 will not be marked by one but by two diplomatic crises. In addition to the tensions with Belarus, France has to deal with a crisis with Algeria. In this rise in tensions, the reduction in the number of visas granted by France to the Maghreb countries, including Algeria.
Announced on September 28, the reduction in visas for nationals from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia is around 50%. A drastic reduction which made Algiers react quickly, which summoned the following day the French ambassador to Algiers, François Gouyette, to notify France “of the formal protest of the Algerian government following a unilateral decision by the government French”.
The situation worsened on October 2, 2021, with the publication in Le Monde, of the transcription of a meeting between Emmanuel Macron and young descendants of an actor from the Algerian war. The President of the Republic severely criticized the policy of Algiers during this exchange, believing that the Algerian government was propagating a “speech based on hatred of France”.
Faced with these statements, Algiers recalled its ambassador to Paris and then announced the closure of its airspace for French military planes. A decision that slightly disrupts the organization of flights linking France to its military operations in the Sahelo-Saharan strip
These tensions did not prevent President Emmanuel Macron from paying tribute to the Algerian demonstrators killed during the demonstration on October 17, 1961. On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of this day, Emmanuel Macron recognized “inexcusable crimes of the Republic”.
THE SUBMARINE CRISIS WITH THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM
It is a triple diplomatic crisis that that of the submarines which opposed France to three of its allies, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. In September 2021, Australia broke its contract with France in favor of the United States and the United Kingdom. Australia had pledged to buy 12 French submarines for a total of 56 billion euros. A juicy contract that had been dubbed the contract of the century.
Faced with this sudden turnaround, France expressed its disapproval by recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Australia. A historic first. The choice not to recall its ambassador to the United Kingdom could be explained by the less involvement of the country in this affair. An American-Australian contract replaced the contract concluded in 2016 with France.
This breach of contract was then described by France as a “blow in the back” but also as a “breach of confidence”, while France wished to increase its relations in the Indo-Pacific where several French territories are located (Mayotte, Reunion, New Caledonia, and French Polynesia).
The European Union sided with France in this diplomatic crisis. The Union has chosen to postpone negotiations on the possible free trade agreement with Australia. Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden made the decision on September 22, 2021, to do everything to restore confidence between the two countries. The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell estimated on October 15 that “the incident with Washington was closed”.
THE DIPLOMATIC CRISIS WITH MALI
Between France and Mali, the tone is rising, since the announcement of the end of the Barkhane mission in Mali by the French president. An announcement that prompted the Malian Prime Minister, Choguel Kokalla Maïga, who said from the United Nations forum on September 26 that France was guilty of ” abandonment in the air”. The Malian government accuses France of having taken this decision to withdraw unilaterally, without consultation or prior discussion.
Emmanuel Macron quickly reacted to the words of Choguel Kokalla Maïga, believing that it was a “shame”. To cope with the partial departure of French troops, the Malian government has announced that it will enter into collaboration with the private security company Wagner. A shocking decision for the Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, who believes that if Mali continues in this direction, then the country will lose the support of the European community.
However, in an interview given to Le Monde on October 18, 2021, the Malian Prime Minister reiterated his remarks last September: “While al-Qaida is increasing its attacks, our main ally, at least the one we believed to be there ‘being, decides to leave his area of influence to focus on the three borders. Isn’t that abandonment in mid-flight?” Tensions, therefore, remain high.
In this same interview, Choguel Kokalla Maïga wanted to come back to the rumors of an agreement with Wagner: “I don’t know of Wagner. These are rumors at this point. The day we make agreements with any country, we will make them public.”
Operation Barkhane began in 2014, at the end of Operation Serval, which began in 2013, which aimed to secure Bamako after a jihadist offensive that Mali had failed to counter. Since the start of operations in Mali in 2013, 47 French soldiers have lost their lives.