8th Edition

Good Afternoon folks! 😁😁

Delighted to have you here. And if you joined us this week, it’s great to finally connect with you… so here we go!

Welcome to The Friday Briefing, your weekly brief on geopolitics.

This is our eighth edition. It’s still a bit of a test, so if something does go wrong be sure to let us know… but anyway, we plan to send out your brief every Friday lunchtime 12pm GMT.

Our goal is to provide you with a balanced and insightful overview, allowing you to stay informed without being overwhelmed with information. But above all, we understand the value of your time. With our summaries, you can quickly grasp the major events shaping our world, deepen your understanding and be on your way in no time!

Our starting point…yes…Africa, but our vision extends beyond the boundaries of a single continent.

Oh don’t forget, feel free to leave behind any feedback, suggestions or further ideas you would like us to run with 🙂 

^{Why Africa? maybe because we don’t hear much…}

Back in 2013, the 42nd President of the United States tweeted the above tweet, “Just touched down in Africa…” ⬆️

Although Mr Clinton’s tweet was true, despite the brazen mistruths our leaders spout these days, he nonetheless could’ve worded it a lot better.

But the tweet tells us a lot more. It exposes an attitude that many of us may have towards Africa, either through ignorance or laziness or maybe because we don’t hear enough about African countries in our national news media.

This is a continent as diverse as it is complex, a continent home to over 1.4 billion people and 54 countries, making it the second-most populated continent in the world.

Events in Africa aren't isolated, they hold global importance too. Political transitions, economic developments and conflicts in Africa have ripple effects that stretch far beyond its borders.

And yes, while we begin with Africa, we’re dedicated to expanding our weekly round-ups to other continents in due course, taking our mission to new frontiers by connecting the dots between nations and continents.

So stay tuned! 👌

^{So, what’s been happening this week? 4 Dec - 8 Dec}

• Burkina Faso “downgrades” French as an official language

• French parliament rejects bid to cancel Franco-Algerian accord

• Seychelles declares “State of Emergency”

• UK and Rwanda strike a new treaty

• Ex-president of Mauritania gets a 5-year prisons sentence

• West Africa’s G5 Sahel Alliance to be dissolved

^{What does this mean?}

Back in early January of 2022, hundreds demonstrated against France in Burkina Faso’s capital of Ouagadougo. Wielding placards with calls for the French army to leave, the protests chanted anti-French slogans and some used the French flag to collect rubbish.

Such was the sentiment, with one protester describing the French ambassador to Burkina Faso Luc Hallade as “the devil and Satan himself".” Relations between Burkina Faso and its former coloniser have gone sour following years of tensions around France’s military presence in the country.

Soon after, on the 23rd January 2022 a coup was launched led by military officer Paul Damiba. After an eruption of heavy gunfire in front of the presidential residence, President Kabore was detained by soldiers. The military announced on television that Mr Kabore had been deposed from his position as president.

Would you believe it… after a few months, on 30th September 2022, another coup took place this time removing the interim military officer Paul Damiba who successfully led the first coup against President Kabore over his inability to deal with the security of Burkina Faso. This time, the coup was led by 34 year old Captain Ibrahim Traore.

Since Captain Traore came to power, Burkina Faso has moved away from its historic colonial power France, while moving ever closer to Russia.

Fast forward to this week, the Burkinabe government adopted a bill revising the Constitution enshrining national languages as official languages in place of French which is relegated to the rank of “working language”. The bill, which must still be voted on by the Transitional Legislative Assembly also provides other changes to the constitution.

Did you know…

At age 34, Captain Ibrahim Traore is currently the youngest serving president in the world.

On Thursday, the French parliament voted down a proposal calling for the termination of the France and Algerian agreement called Franco-Algerian Accord of 1968, which basically makes it easier for Algerian nationals to immigrate to France.

The proposal was submitted by the Republican party who accuse President Macron of being too soft on immigration. However, the proposal was defeated with 151 parliamentarians voting against it, while 113 were in favour.

Signed in 1968, the Franco-Algerian Accord allows Algerian nationals with a unique status in terms of movement, residence, and employment within French territories.

The French parliament is due to start debating on another key bill on immigration very soon.