06 ISSUE VI
JUNE 2025
JUNE 2025
The Unfinished Work of Decolonization
What does sovereignty look like in a postcolonial world where the economic systems of extraction are still intact? Just look at Madagascar .
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By Chaznane Fidahoussen
In April 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron flew into Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, for a two-day state visit. It was the first time in two decades that a French president had set foot on Malagasy soil; the last was Jacques Chirac in 2005. On the surface, Macron was diplomatic and polished: agreements were signed on energy, agriculture, education, and tourism. However, beneath the infrastructure deals and polished speeches, the question lingers: What does decolonization mean in the 21st century, and who gets to define it?
Macron visited Madagascar on his way to the Indian Ocean Commission summit, which comprises Madagascar, Mauritius, the Comoros, the Seychelles, and Réunion. France, China, and India have ‘observer status.’ In the days leading up to his arrival, Antananarivo underwent a surreal transformation: potholes disappeared, broken roads were repaved, trash bins were installed on every street corner, and the long-stalled cable car system began operating for the first time. Even the chronic eight-hour power and water cuts were mysteriously resolved. French flags lined the streets. The performance wasn’t staged for Malagasy citizens. It was staged for their former colonizer.
That performance hit a nerve with locals. Madagascar’s relationship with France is marked by trauma. The 1947 uprising against French colonial rule was met with brutal repression: mass executions, torture, and the eradication of entire villages. Over 100,000 Malagasy were killed. Although independence was officially achieved in 1960, the cost of freedom was high, and the legacy of colonial extraction never truly left.
Macron, to his credit, acknowledged this. In a widely covered speech, he recognized “the violence and humiliation” inflicted by France’s colonial regime. He promised to return cultural artifacts, including the skull of King Toera of the Sakalava people, who was executed and beheaded by colonizing French troops in 1897. That skull has been held in a Paris museum for over a century. The gesture, though powerful, was overdue. Madagascar has been demanding such restitutions for decades. The speech was also part of a broader trend in French foreign policy, where acknowledging historical wrongs is joined with efforts to strengthen contemporary partnerships. This was all déjà vu. I wonder, how do former colonies distinguish honesty from diplomatic theater?
Unsurprisingly, France announced further funding from its French Development Agency and a loan to construct a hydroelectric dam in Volobe, in eastern Madagascar. That project has been delayed for almost a decade. The French electricity giant EDF has signed an agreement with the government to develop, build, and operate the 120MW Volobe hydroelectric dam in Madagascar. Additionally, the French president called for a “partnership” for strategic access to Madagascar’s rare earth minerals, critical for green technologies, and increasingly wanted by world powers.
Is this what decolonization looks like? This is where the contradiction lies. France's language of “partnership” masks a more profound asymmetry. Yes, investments matter. But what kind of development is being pursued, and for whose benefit? For a long time, France’s engagement in Madagascar has leaned heavily on humanitarian and environmental aid. The country is portrayed as a fragile ecosystem to be protected, a people to be guided, rather than as equal partners with agency and political will. The colonial gaze has simply been updated, not dismantled.
Perhaps nothing revealed this more than the unresolved dispute over the Scattered Islands (les Iles Éparses), tiny, uninhabited scraps of land that France still holds onto despite Madagascar’s long-standing claims. While France is currently administering the islands, Macron offered to “continue discussions” about their decolonization and pushed the decisions on these to June 2025. Macron suggested a “co-management” of the islands, similar to the agreement made between Mauritius and Britain regarding the Chagos Islands. For many Malagasy, it felt like déjà vu: another delay in the ‘mora mora’ (slow) lifestyle, another performance of diplomacy where strategic interests are preserved and historical justice is postponed.
Macron aims to reinforce bilateral ties between both countries, reinforcing France’s strategic foothold in the Indian Ocean despite its colonial history, where France wants to play both roles: the helping former colonizer offering apologies and the strategic global player unwilling to cede control. This strategy is caused by the growing ambitions of China and Russia in the region, where France is facing challenges to its sovereignty in its Indian Ocean territories. Macron’s statement during his visit said it all: “We need to conquer, at least, the market of the Indian Ocean Commission, then more widely, East Africa and the Indian Ocean.” Conquer? The word choice was obvious.
Macron’s visit may have opened the conversation on true Malagasy identity, but it is not his to define. Decolonization is not a gift France can give. It is a process of dismantling structures that still privilege their interests over those of their former colonies. It demands the return of land, not just artifacts. It requires fair trade, not dependency. It needs investment in Malagasy priorities, not just foreign ones.
For Madagascar, the fifth-largest island in the world, the way forward lies not in nostalgic partnerships or symbolic gestures but in reclaiming the narrative. Scholars, activists, artists, and everyday citizens must ask and answer the hard questions: What does sovereignty look like in a postcolonial world where the economic systems of extraction are still intact? What kind of partnerships serve the future of Malagasy people?
Macron’s visit made local headlines, not in a positive manner. What needs to be understood is that ‘true’ decolonization cannot be negotiated behind closed doors in Paris. It is up to Malagasy voices: activists, scholars, leaders, and everyday citizens, to define the next chapters.
Chaznane Fidahoussen graduated with an MA international affairs from the new school.