From the Failure of Partnership Narrative to the Rejection of Legitimacy: Youth Resistance and the Unmaking of Françafrique (Published)
This article interrogates the erosion of France’s legitimacy in Francophone Africa through the lens of narrative failure, shifting geopolitics, and youth-led resistance. Moving beyond traditional analyses of Françafrique, which emphasise political, economic, and military entanglements, this study examines the role of narrative construction in sustaining or undermining international influence. The paper argues that France’s long-standing partnership narrative has lost credibility among African youth, who increasingly interpret French engagement as a continuation of neo-imperial practices. By situating this legitimacy crisis within broader global transformations, including the diversification of external actors and the decline of post-colonial patronage systems, the paper analyses the rise of digitally mediated historical consciousness. It shows how youth movements mobilise counter-narratives rooted in colonial memory, sovereignty, and dignity to challenge France’s presence. Through discourse analysis and selected case illustrations, the article demonstrates how these narratives circulate across social media, protest movements, and cultural production that reshape public opinion and influence state-level alignments. The findings suggest that France’s reliance on established instruments of influence, such as military bases, elite networks, and conditionality frameworks, fails to resonate with a generation demanding more equitable and transparent partnerships. The study contributes to debates on decolonising international relations by highlighting the centrality of narrative legitimacy in contemporary soft power competition. It concludes that without a substantive re-articulation of its engagement grounded in mutual respect, France risks further rejection by Francophone African youth within an evolving geopolitical landscape.
Keywords: Counter-narratives, Françafrique, decoloniality, historical consciousness, narrative legitimacy, youth resistance