“Le Gouffre France-Afrique”: Power Relations Between Burkina Faso and France

Abstract

The present research used the contrastive approach of Intercultural Communication (ICC) to investigate the discourse surrounding the news coverage of Macron’s speech in Burkina Faso in 2017, by the Burkinese and the French press. The investigation considered the articles written by four newspapers and one press agency per country, on the day before and the day after the speech. The differences and similarities within and between the French and Burkinese corpora were observed and interpreted with the aid of Postcolonial Critical Discourse Analysis (PCDA). The data were placed in the context of the relations between France and its sub-Saharan ex-colonies, the notion of Françafrique and Postcolonial Theory. The results of the analysis demonstrated the continuation of the colonial power relations between France and Burkina Faso. The power imbalance, where France is the more powerful and Burkina Faso the less powerful, is recognized by the press in both countries. France’s endeavours to maintain its power in Burkina Faso can be seen as a continuation of their colonial policy, which they attempt to conceal by offering money for development, sending soldiers for fighting terrorism and emphasizing the ties of the French language and culture. Burkina Faso is aware of its position as the powerless, and the Burkinese press gives room for anti-imperialistic sentiments. Yet, the country benefits from the relations as well and is caught up in its inferior position in the power relations, which was formed through history and is not simple to escape from.