African speech[edit]
On 27 July 2007, Sarkozy delivered a speech in Senegal, written by Henri Guaino, in which he made reference to "African peasants"[43][44] (note that the French word "paysans" can be translated as either "peasants" or as "rural people") and said that colonialism was not the cause of all of Africa's problems,[43] France made mistakes in Africa though "did not exploit anyone",[44] and asked young Africans to fight against corruption and violence.[44] “ | The tragedy of Africa is that the African has never really entered into history... They have never really launched themselves into the future... The African peasant, who for thousands of years has lived according to the seasons, whose life ideal was to be in harmony with nature, only knew the eternal renewal of time... In this imaginary world, where everything starts over and over again, there is room neither for human endeavour, nor for the idea of progress... The problem of Africa... is to be found here. Africa's challenge is to enter to a greater extent into history... It is to realise that the golden age that Africa is forever recalling will not return, because it has never existed. | ” | — Sarkozy, at a speech in Senegal, [44] |
The remarks were widely condemned by African intellectuals; many, such as Achille Mbembe, Mamadou Diouf or Ibrahima Thioub, viewed them not only as racist, but as displaying a deep ignorance by Sarkozy of African studies, wondering how it was possible to hold similar discourses in 2008.[44][45][46] Alpha Oumar Konare, head of the African Union commission, said "This speech was not the kind of break we were hoping for... It reminded us of another age, especially his comments about peasants."[44] Other criticism was levelled at Sarkozy's failure to acknowledge the previous role of France in propping up abusive regimes.[44] The French government defended Sarkozy's speech, saying that he also criticised the economics of globalisation and proposed a partnership to help Africa confront it.[44] Konare's wife Adame Ba Konare also started a movement of promotion of African History following Sarkozy's speech.
South African president Thabo Mbeki praised Sarkozy's speech and called him a "citizen of Africa", which raised criticism by some in the South African media.[44][46]