Brandishing Russian flags, a few dozen young Congolese demonstrated on Wednesday, March 1, in Kinshasa against the arrival in the DRC of French President Emmanuel Macron, accusing him of supporting Rwanda at the expense of their country.
“Macron murderer! Help Putin! chanted the young demonstrators, who gathered in front of the French embassy with banners and placards saying “Macron godfather of the balkanization of the DRC”, “the Congolese say no to the policy of France” or “Macron undesirable in the DRC”.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the French president is expected at the end of the week, accuses its neighbor Rwanda of supporting the “March 23 Movement (M23), a rebellion active in the east of the country – which has been corroborated by UN experts despite Kigali’s denials – and expects a clear condemnation of this “aggression” from the international community. “We are here to say no to the arrival of Emmanuel Macron because France is complicit in our misfortune,” Josue Bung, of the Sang-Lumumba citizen movement, told reporters, sporting the hairstyle, with a side parting, of Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961).
“We need sanctions”
On Monday, Emmanuel Macron presented in Paris his African strategy for the next few years and, in response to a question on the DRC, affirmed that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country “cannot be discussed”.
But “he did not mention Rwanda, which is our aggressor!” “, reproached him the demonstrators. The Russian flags mean “we no longer need France, we want to work with reliable partners, such as Russia or China,” said Bruno Mimbenga, another organizer of the event, when Russia increasingly competing with France in its historical sphere of influence in Africa.
A little aside, a young woman, Fortune, said she supported the protesters. “The international community is of no use to us,” she said: France condemned Rwandan support for the M23 rebels, “but it’s a facade condemnation, we need sanctions!” »
Citizen movements are also planning to demonstrate against France on Thursday in Goma, eastern DRC where, according to social media posts, young people have already filmed themselves on Wednesday evening burning or trampling the French flag. . “We burned the flag of France (…) to express our indignation vis-à-vis the financial support that France provides to Rwanda to finance the rebels of the M23 who attack us”, explained to AFP a of these activists.
“A Clear Commitment”
“Congolese public opinion expects France to make a clear commitment to the return of peace,” said DRC government spokesman Patrick Muyaya at the end of the day, when questioned during a press briefing. Paris must “condemn” Kigali and “take measures so that Rwanda stops attacking the DRC”, he demanded: “There is no room for ambiguity, the evil is known, it must name it. »
“We want France to clarify its position with clear words” and then, “the other issues can be addressed in the greatest serenity”, added Patrick Muyaya, referring to the strong delegation accompanying the French president, which includes in particular ” a lot of entrepreneurs”.
The DRC will be the last leg of Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Central Africa, which took him to Gabon on Wednesday for a summit on forests and will also take him to Angola and Congo-Brazzaville.
