Status Disputes and Defiance in Postcolonial Relations: : How Can We understand France’s Increasingly Contested Status in Francophone West Africa?

France is currently being faced with an increasing fury and insurrection in its former African colonies. This took many commentators by surprise. Afterall, French influence has been waning for at least two decades in the face of an increasing array of “new” players entering – what used to be considered – France’s “backyard”. Furthermore, French leaders have long expressed remorse and condemned France’s shady activities of the past. This is particularly the case for Macron who, in the name of being part of an entirely “new generation” of leaders, presents himself as an ally of African progress. How then, can we possibly understand the “anti-French sentiment” that has shaken-up the continent in recent years? This paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of France’s contested status by providing a regional case study of francophone West-Africa. Drawing on Holsti’s role theory approach and Bull’s “Great Power” and “Recognition” concepts, this study analyzes the perception of French and West-African officials to investigate how and to what extent France is being challenged by decision-makers. It finds that albeit defiance towards France appears to be less prevalent among West-African decision-makers than the general-public, it is a phenomenon of regional scale that displays a high degree of convergence and has practical ramifications on Franco-African relations. It concludes that France’s historically based claims to a privileged relation with its former colonies is increasingly being challenged by West-African decision-makers due to its difficulty to justify itself in an increasingly multipolar world.