On a visit to Algeria, Emmanuel Macron called on young Algerians and Africans on Friday to “not get carried away” by “the immense manipulation” of “networks” remotely controlled “underhand” by foreign powers who present France as “the enemy”. He named Turkey, Russia and China, assigning them an “influencer, neo-colonial and imperialist agenda”. Words that have not escaped Ankara.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic denounced the “extremely unwelcome” comments in a statement. “It is unacceptable that French President Macron, who has difficulty coping with his colonial past in Africa, particularly in Algeria, is trying to free himself from this colonial past by accusing other countries, including our country,” said he added.
“We hope that France reaches as soon as possible the necessary maturity to face its colonial past without accusing other countries,” he continued. The three-day visit of the French president to Algeria was precisely aimed at turning the page on the tensions in relations between the two countries in recent months, against a background of disagreement on the question of memory.