The French authorities have announced in a confidential letter the suspension of the export of four armored vehicles to Libreville. The main reason given by Paris and reported by Africa Intelligence in an article published on Monday, October 3, is the fear that these materials will be used for repressive purposes after the 2023 presidential elections in Gabon.
The contract to supply the Gabonese Republican Guard (GR) with four AML90 armored vehicles by the French company Sofema, a specialist in reconditioned military equipment, may not be completed. In Paris, the Interministerial Commission for the Study of War Materiel Exports (CIEEMG) has just vetoed the suspension of the contract between the two parties, Africa Intelligence reports.
The fear of a possible post-election crackdown in 2023
According to a confidential letter outlining the reasons for the veto, this decision was taken “under pressure from the advisers of the Africa and Indian Ocean Directorate (DAO) of the Quai d’Orsay. This, for fear that “this material will be used for repressive purposes in case of possible outbursts that could occur on the sidelines of the presidential election of 2023.
This decision is perhaps an opportunity for France to clear its name, as it is regularly accused of interfering in the internal affairs of the countries of its former colonies in Francophone Africa.
No official statement from Libreville, which denounces a trial of intent
No official statement so far from Libreville. But anonymous voices mention a “grotesque trial of intent” and an “anachronistic decision” based on “specious arguments”. “Security and maintenance of internal order is an attribute of any independent state,” they say.
It must be said that the subject could be discussed again on the occasion of the visit of the Gabonese Minister of Defense, Félicité Ongouori Ngoubili, to Paris in mid-October.
