This question is a good example of "politics within politics" playing out between the superpowers, fighting to protect their self-interests. (Superpowers are countries that can extend their political and economic influence, and military might, on other countries.)
In Europe, France, UK and Russia are the major superpowers that compete for influence in Europe and around the world. The relationship between the French and the Russians has seen a downturn during the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, who the Russians now believe is trying to undermine it in Europe, and was directly challenging Russian interests in Libya and Syria:
The true crisis in the bilateral relations between Moscow and Paris began in 2020 as Russia’s position in the Libyan conflict kept growing stronger ... Paris had been a key ally of the Libyan National Army (LNA) ... Following the weakening of French positions in Libya, Russian influence began to penetrate the Sahel countries (Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad) .... France is a dominant power in the region, especially in political and military terms. It has a wide array of military bases across the Sahel: in Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mauritania (France abandoned its bases in Mali in 2022) (Senat.fr, 2023). France is a major arms supplier for Morocco and cooperates extensively with Tunis and Rabat on security matters (SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, 2023). Paris is also a key player in the ongoing second Libyan civil war.
... Paris is interested in ensuring its dominance in the Sahel due to its strategic importance and its influence on the littoral states of Western Africa. Sahel is strategically important for France because of its uranium deposits. One-third of French uranium for peaceful uses (electricity generation) and 100 percent of uranium for military purposes comes from Niger, where the French company Orano owns uranium fields through its subsidiaries and ships it to France significantly below the market price (Filippov, 2017). Tuareg-fueled instability directly threatens French interests in Niger, where Tuaregs make up about 10 percent of the population. Furthermore, insecurity in the Sahel may spill over into countries with significant economic importance for France, such as Cote-d’Ivoire and Senegal. Rare-earth metals from Western Africa are critically important for the European Green Deal as well (Usman et al., 2021). Thus, by ensuring primacy in the Sahel, France guarantees not only its own strategic depth but that of the EU.
As the relationship between Putin and Sarkozy deteriorated, Russia aggressively started interfering and undermining French interests in Africa too. The result was the recent news from the African continent highlighting the tense situation developing between western powers (mostly France) and some African groups and nation. These unstable political situations have developed because Russia (with some support from China) has astutely managed to tap into the nationalists sentiments there, and use the political discontent in Africa against France and other western nations into political action with their backing.
Russia’s return to Africa is by no means new or underreported as the presence of private military groups such as Wagner, meddling with elections as in Madagascar, signing arms and mining deals with countries such as Sudan and Central African Republic (CAR), as well as backing Libyan warlords is the ‘new normal’ for Russia in Africa. What is underreported, however, is Russia’s use of Pan-Africanism to increase anti-Western sentiment and in turn, increase its influence on the continent.
... Pan-Africanism is a global social, cultural, and political movement that embraces increased solidarity among all ethnic groups of African descent stemming from the early 1900s. The movement embraces all African diaspora in the world with the belief that the diaspora should uplift each other. Another feature of Pan-Africanism for some is what is referred to as afro-centric Pan-Africanism which became prominent in the 1980s and 90s. The element of Afrocentrism largely focuses on driving out the Eurocentric elements from the African societies stemming from colonial times, in particular, culture in forms of literature, music, and theatre.
... Evidently, Russia does have a grand strategy in Africa and one important aspect of it is to drive France out of its former colonies. With diminishing French influence, Russia can increase its own and, in the greater scheme, diminish Western influence on the continent and establish many alliances which could be very beneficial for Russia, enabling increased arms export, mining concessions, oil and gas concessions, infrastructure projects (particularly nuclear energy and railways), as well as military cooperation. - How Russia Is Hijacking Pan-Africanism to Drive France out of Africa
The current Russian strategy in Africa is a fine-tuning of its cold-war strategy that it has used effectively with many former western colonies in the past. It also helps that French foreign policy in Africa still bears a colonial legacy:
Over the decades, Africa has been largely a French exclusive sphere of influence ... While other major powers exercise influence over their respective spheres quite tactfully, France exercises it in Africa, in a quite domineering way, thereby overshadowing countries like South Africa and Nigeria; and indeed rendering them bereft of continental influence befitting their weight in the continent.
Besides, French activities in the continent have always been enmeshed in one controversy or another. From particularly blatant exploitation to subversive activities against many governments including its supposed allies, France is largely viewed in the continent as a bully too strong to be tamed by its victims, and too influential to be challenged by its fellow superpowers whose interests are, after all, never affected anyway.
French forces are spread across many countries in the continent supposedly on a mission to fight terrorism and other forms of organised crime. There are also many French-linked “humanitarian organisations” ostensibly providing humanitarian services to the displaced. However, there has always been a quite credible suspicion of their involvement in the perpetuation of insecurity and instability amid which they perpetuate the systematic plunder of the countries’ mineral resources.
Likewise, many incidents of government overthrow and/or assassination of politicians opposed to French activities in their countries have been linked to Paris. Many instances of the rise and reign of governments and political elites committed to doing the French biddings at the expense of their respective countries have been equally linked to successive French governments. - How Russia overshadows France in Africa
The French response to this, under Sarkozy, has been to try and further undermine Russian interests in Eurasia:
In a plot full of political intrigues and strategic interests, France seems to seek a vendetta, that is, retaliation against Russian interference in its African sphere of influence. Moscow’s increased influence in the region, through the Wagner Group (and now Africa Corps), has caused a decline in French influence, evidenced by the withdrawal of its troops from countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.
However, France does not remain passive in the face of this advance, retaliating with a series of initiatives aimed at undermining Russian interests in territories historically aligned with Moscow in Eurasia, such as Armenia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. This contest is not just a battle for influence, but a struggle for prestige and global power, the consequences of which could reshape the balance of power beyond Europe.
Considering Russia’s encroachment into the French sphere of influence, Paris is adopting a similar approach to Russia’s to engage with Caucasus and Central Asian countries, which are within Moscow’s sphere of influence, as a form of provocation ...
... France is intensifying its military cooperation with Armenia ... seeks strategic alliances with Armenia, a country that was “abandoned” by Russia during the war with Azerbaijan ... Kazakhstan is an important ally of Russia, and the growing French presence may undermine this alliance ... Uzbekistan is strategically important in Central Asia, and France is interested in strengthening its ties with the country to expand its geopolitical presence in the region ... Uzbekistan has historically maintained close ties with Russia ... The intensification of French support for Ukraine can also be seen as a direct challenge to Russian influence in the region. Russia views Ukraine as part of its sphere of influence (or even as part of Russia itself) and has sought to maintain control over the country through massive military invasion (and attempted occupation and annexation) and constant military support to separatist groups. Therefore, increased French support for Ukraine may undermine Russian efforts to maintain its dominant position in the region. - How France Is Taking Revenge on Moscow for Russian Meddling in Its Former African Colonies
The British have always had a less than amicable relationship with the Russians and consider them their main rival in Europe. Even when France and Germany were willing to engage with Russia, diplomatically and economically, the British were always privately hostile to any kind of alliance between them. It is also the biggest opponent to Russia's integration with Europe, as it fears Russia's presence in Europe will shift political alliances that could weaken British influence substantially. So it is not at all surprising that it seeks to undermine it in Ukraine too, and is happy to work with the French on this. (The French losing influence in Africa also effects it as the French also worked to protect the interests of the western alliance in Africa).
