Mauritania at the center of the French-speaking world

An article by Jemal Taleb, lawyer at the Paris Bar

“In the rubble of colonization, we found a marvelous tool, the French language.†— Léopold Sédar Senghor

This quote is from Léopold Sédar Senghor, the first president of Senegal, co-creator of negritude and the concept of francophonie. It is interesting to see that this concept was not invented by France, but by personalities from the French colonial empire. And the quote from the poet president explains the place that this language occupies in the culture and the experiences of those who share it as a heritage. Today, relations between France and its former colonies are going through an area of ​​great turbulence. And the French language remains the strongest link between peoples, the least contested shared heritage, thus reinforcing Senghor’s prophetic observation.

Read also: France-Africa, the fractures of the postcolonial relationship

Alternation, an opportunity for Africa

The International Organization of La Francophonie will soon elect its general secretary. Facing the title holder, the Rwandan Louise Mushikiwabo, we find other African candidates – the Congo and Mauritania. Perhaps we could allege an unwritten rule but whose use tends to become institutionalized in democracies, that of the limitation of mandates, to request the withdrawal of the outgoing candidate. But above all we think that the idea of an objective alternation – an alternation of the brave – would be an opportunity for the African candidacy, compared to the other contenders. Thus, we would consider that the outgoing Central Africa – Rwanda and the Congo – could lend its support to the Mauritanian candidacy.

Above all, we think that Mauritania’s candidacy is truly meaningful. This country, which has never held the position of Secretary General of the OIF, is a founding member. Its geographical and cultural position at the crossroads of two Africas, northern and sub-Saharan, makes it an attractive compromise. Finally, the personality of the candidate would, there is no doubt, reassure everyone about her ability to represent all of Africa, both symbolically and effectively.

Read also: The OIF, a geopolitical issue for the French language

The profile of Coumba Bâ: strategic neutrality and vision

Doctor Coumba Bâ, a dapper fifty-year-old, is Minister Advisor to the Presidency of the Republic and the current special envoy of her country to the Francophonie. She therefore knows the august house. This dental surgeon who began her career in a clinic and then in state coordinating bodies displays a record of service which confirms her managerial abilities, absolute mastery of executive workings, in-depth knowledge of decision-making mechanisms at the highest level, and great ease in national and international environments. She held the ministerial portfolios of civil service, African affairs, youth and administrative modernization.

But it is worth saying it again and again: the OIF is navigating in a context marked by regional tensions within the French-speaking world. From then on, Madame Bâ’s profile represents an essential strategic neutrality at the head of the organization. The numerous sensitive diplomatic missions entrusted to him by the presidency of his country attest to his sense of negotiation, his ability to evolve in delicate environments, and to challenge the most daring bets.

Read also: Mauritania, geopolitical pivot between the two Africas

A manifesto for a new direction

And to conclude, reading his manifesto is edifying, which reflects as much the determination as the clarity and effectiveness of his vision for the OIF. It proposes a project of balance in a geopolitical situation which we think lacks it; a daring project in a sometimes wait-and-see world; a project for the future in a thriving French-speaking world, in the words of Aimé Césaire, Senghor’s friend:

“Tumultuous adventure, with its rolls and nodules.”

A French-speaking space in search of a consensual direction but also charged with a great and new vision for this beautiful cultural fraternity.