Morocco Asserts Independence as France’s Economic Influence in Africa Wanes

In an interview with L’Express, Dominique Lafont, former head of the transport and logistics division in Africa, from 2003 to 2014, of the Bolloré group - since sold to the shipping company MSC - notes the loss of economic influence of France in Africa in general and in Morocco in particular. "In the late 1990s, France had a preeminent position in Africa, particularly in West Africa, he recalls. Today, the challenge for a French company is to face much stronger competition than 20 years ago. French investments in relative value have fallen a lot compared to the early 2000s, which was inevitable, while investments from emerging countries have risen, from the Arabian Peninsula, Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Latin America... and Africa."

According to him, the continent has entered globalization. "Foreign investments are pouring in from everywhere and intra-African flows are multiplying. Morocco, for example, is investing in West Africa. Some African companies are developing and investing in other countries, like the Senegalese CSTT-AO, which operates in South Africa and is in the process of establishing itself in the United States and Australia. It is a long and continuous movement, driven by African businessmen who have understood that growth goes through regionalization. On the other hand, some states will experience very worrying setbacks. African countries will have to get more involved themselves in the stabilization of their neighbors," analyzes the man who has criss-crossed Africa for 20 years and knows its subtleties.

While the continent remains very attractive, "growth prospects are very heterogeneous from one country to another," Lafont points out, noting that "the issue of security is becoming increasingly acute." According to his explanations, the African countries that are growing will have to worry about their regional environment. "Morocco, for example, needs Mauritania and Senegal to be stable. Which means that inter-regional cooperation must be strengthened," insists the head of Lafont Africa Corporation. He also assures that there are "other positive factors that are gaining in strength, particularly those related to a better trained workforce. We now find more easily senior executives and African leaders. And the prospects for long-term growth remain unparalleled."

Lafont evokes the new generation of leaders made up of young executive managers "who have had access to international training, are uninhibited and speak English" to the detriment of French, which, according to him, "is losing influence in Africa." "Today, to take the example of Morocco, the Moroccans have the will to develop their relations with the rest of the world, in particular the Saudi, Brazilian, Mexican, English-speaking... environments. This is done to the detriment of French influence, which is inexorably doomed to diminish. Morocco is no longer France’s little brother," he concludes.