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According to several Internet users, French President Emmanuel Macron would have published a tweet on the evening of March 3 calling for calm following the clashes that took place in Dakar (Senegal) and announcing a deployment of “1500 […] law enforcement“French in the country. It is a fake: the Twitter account of the Head of State does not display any tweet published on this date about Senegal. A spokesperson for the French General Staff has confirmed to AFP that no “enhancement“of the current contingent of 350 French soldiers in the country was not foreseen.
The masked face of the French president appears next to a tweet, in a screenshot widely shared since March 4 on social networks in Senegal. In this message relayed by many Internet users, the Head of State asks to “put an end to the repression in Senegal and the sacking of French-owned businesses“in the country and announces the deployment of”1.500 […] law enforcement“French for this purpose.
According to AFP research, this rumor began circulating on Facebook on March 4, the day after clashes in Dakar between Senegalese security forces and supporters of Ousmane Sonko, one of the main political opponents. from the country. The image accumulated today at 5 p.m. nearly 300 shares on this social network (1, 2, 3, 4, 5…).
Mr. Sonko was arrested on his way to court where he was to be heard on charges of rape. His arrest on the way, at midday, for disturbing public order, provoked violent confrontations in the popular district of Colobane, around the gendarmerie premises where he was supposed to be held and whose armored vehicles protected the people. access.
Inconsistencies
Several inconsistencies appear at first glance in this screenshot. First, the French president’s Twitter account, like those of many and many heads of state, is certified by the social network: a blue badge adorned with a small white “v” is then visible next to the name of the user. (red rectangle).
Screenshot of Emmanuel Macron’s Twitter account, taken on March 4, 2021
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This certification “allows users to be guaranteed the authenticity of a public interest account“, according to the Twitter Help Center, and can be issued to a variety of personalities and organizations (politicians, stars, media, companies, etc.).
There was also a spelling error in the tweet (“we will deploy” instead of “we will deploy“), an unreliable error in a tweet posted on the Twitter account of a head of state.
No tweet relating to Senegal, moreover, appears on the account of the Head of State at the supposed date and time of the message shared on Facebook. On the night of March 2 to 3, the French President well and truly tweeted about international news… But speaking of the situation in Myanmar.
The wording of this message, published at 11:36 pm, closely resembles that of the fake viral tweet on Facebook. “France calls for immediate end to repression in Burma“, writes the president, who calls”to release those detained and to respect the democratic choice of the Burmese people expressed in the last elections“.
France calls for an immediate end to the repression in Burma, to release those detained and to respect the democratic choice of the Burmese people expressed in the last elections. We are by your side.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 3, 2021
No new deployment of French soldiers in Senegal
The alleged announcements made in this fake tweet are also just as false: France has not deployed 1,500 additional soldiers in Senegal in response to the unrest that plagued Dakar on March 3.
Contacted by AFP, Colonel Frédéric Barbry, spokesperson for the French staff, assured on March 4 that only 350 French soldiers were present in Senegal, as part of an agreement signed in August 2011 between Paris and Dakar. “No reinforcement of posture at EFS (French elements in Senegal, editor’s note) ”is”on today’s agenda“, specified this spokesperson.
According to the colonel, the French soldiers currently present in Senegal have the main missions of “ensure the defense and security of French interests and nationals“, to support the”operational trips in the region” and of “contribute to regional operational cooperation“.
As of March 4, the Elysee Palace did not officially communicate about the clashes that took place in Dakar between the police and supporters of the political opponent Ousmane Sonko. On the same date, the latest news available on its site dealt with the French Council of Ministers, held the day before.
Screenshot of the Elysée site, taken on March 4, 2021
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Last episode of a long Senegalese political soap opera
These incidents, the most serious that Dakar has known in years, are the latest episode in an affair that has shaken the political world for a month, with the 2024 presidential election as a backdrop.
Unrest was also reported in other towns, including Casamance (south). Mr. Sonko enjoys strong support in this region where his father is from and where he has spent part of his life. On March 4, a young man was killed in this province during demonstrations against the arrest of the politician. This is the first confirmed death during these protests.
Supporters of the main Senegalese political opponent, Ousmane Sonko, run down the street after learning that their leader had been arrested in Dakar on March 3, 2021 (AFP / John Wessels)–
Mr. Sonko, 46, leader of the Pastef-Les Patriotes party and third in the 2019 presidential election, has been the target since early February by a complaint for rape and death threats filed by an employee of a beauty salon to which he went get a massage to, he says, relieve his back pain.
The National Assembly has lifted its parliamentary immunity. Mr. Sonko, a personality with an anti-system profile and an impetuous speech mixing economic patriotism and denouncing bad governance, denies the accusations. The opponent shouts at the plot hatched by President Macky Sall himself to remove him from the next presidential election.
Mr Sall, 59, elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019, remains uncertain about the possibility of a candidate for a third term, despite the limit of two, introduced after a constitutional revision approved in 2016.
Asked recently about the accusations of a set-up on his part, the head of state replied: “I have enough things to do (not to) plot such low things“.
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