What a turnaround! The just-ended visit of the President of the French Republic came on rather gleefully, dispelling perceptible absence of empathy of Cameroonians towards the Trance observed for some time now, especially in the media where constant references to France’s colonial acts and the regular highlighting of its foreign policy planks which did not favour African countries and in so doing putting ordinary citizens eyeball-to-eyeball with the French. Mr Hollande came, saw and obviously revised his notes on some of the critical issues he had been hammering on before stepping foot on Cameroonian soil. Before landing at Nsimalen, we had heard the French media was even hinting, rather vigorously, that some common law prisoners held in Cameroonian prisons were going to be freed on the sole account of being French citizens as if being a French citizen exculpates one from respecting existing laws. Beyond this recurrent rhetoric over France’s purportedly paternalistic attitude towards its African partners who are very vexed at the situation and would energetically want to resist, there are also some vital questions hanging over from the time France exercised the United Nation’s trusteeship agreement which enabled it to run Cameroon as if it were one of its colonies. Here, there has been regular talk of gaining access to colonial documents which, in principle, should have been declassified and which certainly contain disturbing information about the way and manner France carried out its UN mission in Cameroon. What immediately comes to mind is the prosecution of those involved in the liberation war for independence for which thousands of Cameroonians lost their lives, not necessarily in combat, but very often summarily executed for simply wanting to obtain the possibility of aspiring to self rule.

These have been very pressing demands and even the most sober of Cameroonians could have even imagined the response of the French President here. Not only did he say he found no objection with Cameroonians obtaining access to classified colonial documents; but even made mention, even if simply to regret, of the barbaric repression of nationalist forces in the Sanaga-Maritme and Bamileke regions of the country shortly before and after independence. Then with regard to the more actual issues, President Biya made it pointedly clear that his long stay at the helm of the state was not of his making neither imposed nor done against the wishes of the people because he had always won elections against other candidates. The rumpus over the continued detention of Barrister Lydienne Eyoum did not as much as come to the fore except that a journalist brought up the issue even after President Hollande himself had talked about the competence of the Cameroonian judicial system and made it clear that it was for Cameroonian officials to examine the case of that lawyer within the framework of existing legislation in Cameroon. So, one can expect that all the hubbub in the French media, claiming that this clear case of embezzlement was rather a political issue, must henceforth be laid to sleep.

National public opinion, fuelled for the most part by the media, did not seem very favourable for France, to the extent that the media and other concerned citizens were very attentive to identify any giving of lessons or paternalistic statements, even by way of undertones. But they were difficult to find. It was joy-joy all along in words and deeds. It is either that Cameroonians had arrived at wrong conclusions about the state of relations between Cameroon and France or simply that all that hurts is being put aside or behind in order to turn a new page in relations in a manner as to conform with the exigencies of an ever-changing world which prescribes that nations put their honour, their respect and their interest above all else. The visit might have been brief, but it was intense and has set Cameroon-France relations on a new platform.