Sebastien Lecornu, the French Defense Minister, took to Twitter to express his disdain for the recent release of the Black Panther movie. He vehemently denounced the movie’s depiction of French soldiers as thieves attempting to steal resources from the imaginary African kingdom of Wakanda.
Lecornu stated, “I firmly reject this unrealistic and misleading portrayal of our military forces.” The movie shows French soldiers being brought before a United Nations meeting after being caught on a covert mission to a Wakandan facility in Mali.
A journalist by the name of Jean Bexon pointed out that the “sinister French mercenaries in Mali” were dressed like the soldiers from Operation Barkhane, a real-life military operation.
France is particularly touchy about its image in West Africa, especially after military leaders in Mali and Burkina Faso called for the withdrawal of French troops who were deployed to the Sahel region to combat jihadist groups in 2013.
Lecornu concluded by paying homage to the 58 French soldiers who lost their lives while defending Mali against Islamist terrorism. He said, “I pay my respects to the brave souls who sacrificed their lives, at Mali’s request, in the fight against terrorism.”
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