France wants to make its dominance in Africa less visible, while it is in fact no longer a defining power in the changing world, national coordinator of the movement Urgences Panafricanistes in the DRC Fortifi Lushima told Sputnik Africa.
Paris is trying to "lull the vigilance of African youth" who are hostile to its military presence on the continent, he stated.
According to Lushima, recent comments by Emmanuel Macron's special envoy for Africa about plans to significantly reduce the presence of French troops in several African countries indicate that Paris is looking for a new form of maintaining its presence on the continent.
"I think it [a new form] will rely on the academic sphere because it wants to get closer to the African grey matter in order to manipulate it more effectively," the Pan-African activist said.
However, France's involvement in Africa is expected to persist in the military sphere, as the European nation will allegedly use some African army "to do its dirty work," he added.
French troops in Gabon and Djibouti will soon be further reduced, the speaker noted.
Fortifi Lushima also highlighted a "geopolitical mutation" currently taking place in a world no longer defined by "Washington, Paris or Brussels."
"Today, we can cooperate with states such as Russia, China, Iran, Turkey and many others, but all this must be done with the aim of achieving our collective sovereignty," he concluded.