Briefs
(source: dothaneagle.com)
Jacob Zenn
France has historically been the major Western power guaranteeing political stability in the Francophone countries of northwest and central Africa. However, Turkey has increasingly matched French influence in North Africa, while the United States, to an extent, has done the same in Niger and perhaps Rwanda (France24, December 24, 2020). While Russia provides weapons to various Francophone countries, it has also become the protector of the Central African Republic (CAR). Prior to this, France had been the most influential foreign power in CAR and neighboring countries, including, for example, Chad, where Paris has consistently “propped up” its three decades-long President Idriss Déby (rfi.fr, March 20, 2019).