Hollande's Africa visit

Even before Hollande stepped on to Cameroonian soil on Friday, there were protests and a heated debate about France’s influence. Awudu Mbaya Cyprian, a lawmaker from Cameroon's main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), questioned what he called France's domination of Cameroon's political, social and economic life.

Cameroon uses English and French as its official languages. But Awudu Mbaya said the country’s authorities are neglecting the English language. "It is a thing that is boiling in the hearts of all English speaking Cameroonians. I decided to pull down all signposts that were written only in French language without the English equivalent."

There is also growing anti-French sentiment triggered by what is seen as France’s control of Cameroon’s economy. According to Yimgaim Moyo Theophile, leader of the Citizens Movement political party, a pre-independence trade deal between France and Cameroon signed in 1948, favors the French. "Bilateral agreements between France and Cameroon authorize mostly French enterprises to exploit most of Cameroon forest and mining resources," Yimgaim Moyo told DW.

Protesters in the city of Douala on Thursday (02.07.2015) destroyed the statue of French General Jacques-Phillipe Leclerc. He is credited for liberating Paris from Nazi Germany in 1944. The Cameroonian government condemned the incident, insisting that the nation had benefitted a lot from France.

Blow to diplomatic relations

Relations between Cameroon and France are at their lowest with many Cameroonians openly accusing Paris of arming Nigeria’s Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram. While on a visit to Cameroon earlier in March, Chad’s Communication Minister Hassan Sylla Ben Bakary said 40 percent of arms and military equipment used by Boko Haram originated in France.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius rebuffed the allegations as a "horrible figment of imagination." He said if any country was committed to fighting Boko Haram, it was France.

Together with Chad, Niger, Benin and Nigeria, Cameroonian troops are engaged in an offensive against Nigeria’s Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram. Politician Moyo said France had not offered credible support to Cameroon in the war against the insurgents. "France has not contributed soldiers or technological know-how, despite the fact that it was in France that the war against Boko Haram was declared by five African heads of state."

Moyo said France should be in the frontline because some of its citizens were held hostage by Boko Haram until Cameroon and Nigeria negotiated their release. Despite the criticisms, defeating Boko Haram was one of the main items on the agenda of Hollande’s trip to Cameroon.

Deal with Angola’s dictator?

Accompanied by scores of business people and investors to Luanda, Angola’s capital, Hollande praised the oil-rich nation as a force for stability in Africa. An article published by Radio France International (RFI), said representatives of Accor [A French hotel conglomerate] signed a deal to run 50 hotels in Angola.

Upon his arrival, Hollande acknowledged that France and Angola have not always enjoyed a cordial relationship. "We have been trying to strengthen them for several years now," the 60-year old French leader said.

In the 1990s, a scandal which later came to be known as Angolagate damaged bilateral relations between France and Angola. It implicated prominent French politicians for selling illegal arms to President Jose Eduardo dos Santos's government.

Human rights activists criticized Hollande for focusing on economic interests while ignoring Dos Santos' deplorable rights record. 15 activists are still in detention accused of plotting a " rebellion." In an interview with france 24, Claudio Da Silva, a Luanda-based entrepreneur and friend of a number of the detained activists said Hollande’s priority in Angola was business.

"When foreign leaders come to Angola, they don’t mention human rights and I don’t expect the French president to put his money where his mouth is on human rights."

Moki Kindzeka contributed to this article.