French influence raises issue of decolonisation in Madagascar

Behind the political theatre is the shadow of France’s continued involvement

On January 8, the High Constitutional Court of Madagascar confirmed that Andry Rajoelina, a former radio DJ and mayor of the capital city, Antananarivo, was duly elected president of the island nation. Outside Madagascar, the information barely registered. But on the island it was another twist in more than a decade of political theatre.

Mr Rajoelina becomes the eighth president of Madagascar since independence in 1959. Among the eight, one was deposed by Mr Rajoelina, another was impeached, yet another served for only six days before he was assassinated in a coup orchestrated by a fourth, Didier Ratsiraka, who remains the only Malagasy leader to fully complete a second term in office.

Mr Rajoelina is Mr Ratsiraka’s protégé and in 2009 he was the face of the coup that deposed his main 2018 electoral rival, Marc Ravalomanana, barely two years into the latter’s second term. Given Mr Rajoelina’s scant political pedigree, many Malagasy people believe that Mr Ratsiraka was behind his ascent.

Mr Ratsiraka looks like the quintessential authoritarian. But to some sections of the public he represents a period of stability they remember fondly. This perhaps explains why, despite serious questions around Mr Rajoelina’s victory, pro-ravalomanana protests have been relatively poorly attended.

Behind the chess match is the shadow of continued French involvement on the island — a pat- tern across France’s former African colonies that raises the question of just how constructive its foreign policy in Africa is. It is worth noting that after the 2009 coup almost all other countries reduced full diplomatic relations with Madagascar in protest but not France. When members of the military mutinied to protest at orders to shoot at opposition supporters, Mr Rajoelina received protection at the French embassy.

France retains a strong footprint in public life in Madagascar. The largest constellation of Alliance Française cultural centres in a single African country is in Madagascar. This network is important to the promotion of contemporary culture, but some Malagasy people see it as an extension of the cultural colonialism that made political colonisation possible. Madagascar is experiencing an intense version of the classic post- colonial question: can political progress be achieved when decolonisation is incomplete?

In 2002, Mr Ratsiraka lost resoundingly to Mr Ravalomanana, also a former mayor of Antananarivo. A crisis ensued when he refused to accept defeat. Mr Ravalomanana, an anglophile Christian, was nonetheless soon recognised as the island’s rightful leader, quickly attracting American support. Under Mr Ravalomanana, the amount of US aid increased dramatically. Some analysts have argued that this aid directly undermined many francophone business and political interests, eventually leading to the formation of a clandestine network that bankrolled the 2009 coup.