UK better for us than France, says Gabon as it joins Commonwealth

‘France don’t consider us as equals, they see us as a country to exploit. They don’t want us to industrialise’

IN A classroom of young Gabonese students waving Union Jack flags, the teacher asks if they know how many countries are in the Commonwealth.

“Fifty-four,” they chant back in English with a heavy Franco-Gabonese accent.

The English lesson in Gabon’s capital, Libreville, is part of new measures introduced to celebrate the central African nation as it yesterday became the newest country to join the Commonwealth, a club of mostly Anglophone former colonies headed by the Queen.

Along with Togo, which was also joined this weekend at a Commonwealth summit in Rwanda, it is the first time new nations have been added in more than a decade.

Both of them are former French colonies but are looking to get away from Paris’s influence in the hope that ties with the UK can usher in a new era of development. “I’m very excited about the Commonwealth because our relationship with France is not very good,” said Darcy Nkongo Ekwamata, a student. “They don’t consider us as equals, they see us as a country that they can just exploit. They don’t want us to industrialise. We need something new and we think that Britain can help us.”

Paris has kept much tighter control on its former empire and is often accused of deposing and installing leaders to suit its interests, in what is known as “la Françafrique”. A wave of antiFrench sentiment has recently swept parts of the Sahel and west Africa.

Michael Adamo, the foreign minister, said that Anglophone African countries had a better chance of development. “We can see very clearly how former British colonies have moved forwards and how the former French colonies have moved forward – the relationships are very different,” he said.

He said Gabon had missed “billions of dollars” worth of opportunities as British and US investors were deterred by the perception that the government only does business with France.

He hopes this pivot will change that. As part of the shift, English has now been made a mandatory language in primary schools in an effort to foster business ties with Anglophone markets.

The government of Gabon, a petrostate turned environment pioneer that has been ruled by a powerful dynasty since 1967, also wants to ramp up energy exports to Britain and is looking to boost co-operation on preserving rainforests and fighting poaching.

Mr Adamo was keen to frame it as a “diversification of partners” rather than an outright rejection of France.

But that seems to be how it has been perceived in Paris.

A top official who wished to remain anonymous said the French embassy in Libreville has made it harder for Gabonese citizens to get visas to France.

The embassy did not respond to requests for a comment.