Succession of Biya: France sets the machine in motion
Succession of Biya: France sets the machine in motion
As announced by the editorial staff of scop4.com, General Thierry Marchand is officially appointed Ambassador of France to Cameroon to replace Christophe Ghuilhou who was dismissed after Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Cameroon.
The profile of the new ambassador questions. In public opinion, the choice of a senior army officer to represent France in Cameroon is not trivial. Some see it as Paris’ desire to thwart the sovereigntist tendencies of Yaoundé, which is strengthening its military agreements with Russia.
In the program Club des Elites of Sunday September 18, 2022 on the private television channel Vision 4, the Cameroonian economist Dieudonné Essomba makes a link between the appointment of General Thierry Marchand and after Biya. France, according to him, does not wish to have at the head of Cameroon a leader friendly to Russia.
“With the appointment of this ambassador, there is an underground balance of power between France and Russia. France’s fear today is that a Touadéra or an Assimi Goïta will succeed Biya. It is also a message, that even by force, she will not let this happen”, he declared before continuing: “The French Embassy is the brain of everything that France does in outside. That’s why we can read France’s intentions through the ambassador”.
France according to concordant sources would be more accommodating with the profile of Franck Biya, the eldest son of President Paul Biya aged 93, whose media announce his death every day. It is a tradition for France to support the accession to power of the sons of dictators. This was the case in Togo, Gabon and more recently in Chad where Emmanuel Macron personally participated in the “enthronement” of the son of dictator Idriss Deby Itno. Franck Biya according to the magazine Jeune Afrique has already been received at the Elysée on the sly. During his visit to Cameroon, Emmanuel Macron also spoke with Franck Biya, whose desire to take the place of his brother leaves no room for doubt.
General 5 stars
General Thierry Marchand has a perfect knowledge of Africa. Military, he carried out operations in several African countries such as the Central African Republic and Djibouti. A graduate of the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr in 1987, he held several strategic positions within the French military apparatus.
“Between 2006 and 2008 he commanded the 13th double in Djibouti. From 2008 to 2009, he was an auditor at the Center for Advanced Military Studies (chem) and the Institute for Advanced Studies in National Defense (ihedn). He was then assigned for a year to the Joint Center for Concepts and Doctrines (cicde) and joined the Delegation for Strategic Affairs in 2010 as deputy director for regional issues, ”indicates the Infexions.net site.
Prior to his appointment at the French Embassy in Cameroon, the general held the position of Director of Security and Defense Cooperation at the Quai d’Orsay. He covers more than 300 French cooperators who have gone to Africa and around the world.
