“Although the term was coined over a century ago, \u201cFrancophonie\u201d has become associated with France\u2019s attempt to maintain (or project) its influence in various parts of\u00a0 the world – but especially in Africa, where it has often been perceived as the \u201csoft\u201d corollary of \u201cFran\u00e7afrique\u201d – even though it was first resurrected by L\u00e9opold Sedar Senghor.<\/p>\n
Alain Mabanckou, the first African writer to be invited to lecture at the\u00a0Coll\u00e8ge de France<\/em>, shares with most of his peers some serious misgivings about the incestuous connections between the \u201ccultural\u201d and \u201crealpolitik\u201d dimensions of France\u2019s policies.”\u00a0Edouard Bustin.<\/strong><\/p>\n Read more on the subject:<\/strong><\/p>\n On a suivi la \u201cmesse africaine\u201d de Mabanckou au Coll\u00e8ge de France<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Ce 2 mai 2016, l’auteur de \u201cBlack Bazar\u201d organisait un colloque pour \u201cPenser et \u00e9crire l\u2019Afrique noire\u201d. Avec des invit\u00e9s comme Pap Ndiaye, Dany Laferri\u00e8re ou Achille Mbembe.<\/p>\n Francophonie, langue fran\u00e7aise\u00a0: lettre ouverte \u00e0 Emmanuel Macron<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Le pr\u00e9sident de la R\u00e9publique a propos\u00e9 \u00e0 Alain Mabanckou de contribuer aux “travaux de r\u00e9flexion” qu\u2019il souhaite “engager autour de la langue fran\u00e7aise et de la Francophonie”. L\u2019auteur de “Verre cass\u00e9” lui r\u00e9pond.<\/p>\n Alain Mabanckou refuse de participer au projet francophone d’Emmanuel Macron<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Le pr\u00e9sident Emmanuel Macron a propos\u00e9 \u00e0 Alain Mabanckou de collaborer avec Le\u00efla Slimani pour \u00abcontribuer aux travaux de r\u00e9flexion autour de la langue fran\u00e7aise et de la francophonie\u00bb. L’auteur de\u00a0Petit Piment<\/em>\u00a0lui r\u00e9pond, acerbe, dans une lettre ouverte publi\u00e9e sur\u00a0BibliObs<\/em>.<\/p>\n Why a celebrated Francophone Africa writer said no to president Macron\u2019s Francophone project<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n In his\u00a0speech to \u201cAfrica\u2019s youth\u201d<\/a>\u00a0in Ouagadougou, last November, France\u2019s president Emmanuel Macron made a big deal of his plans to promote the French language around the world, with advice from African thinkers and others. Two weeks later, he invited Alain Mabanckou\u2014the celebrated Congolese novelist and essayist\u2014to take part.<\/p>\n But Mabanckou\u2014who divides his time between Paris and Los Angeles, where he is a professor at UCLA\u2014said\u00a0non<\/em>. In an open letter to Macron that ran on January 15 in the French magazine L\u2019Obs, he rejected the whole venture. The French language is not under threat, he argues. Instead,\u00a0La Francophonie<\/a>\u2014the Paris-based organization with 57 member countries, roughly equivalent to the Commonwealth\u2014and other initiatives predicated on shared French language serve France\u2019s political interests and those of African repressive elites.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Although the term was coined over a century ago, \u201cFrancophonie\u201d has become associated with France\u2019s attempt to maintain (or project) its influence in various parts of\u00a0 the world – but especially in Africa, where it has often been perceived as … Continue reading