France reacted angrily when many African nations expelled its soldiers.

According to the French Foreign Ministry, Russia is jeopardising the sovereignty of many African governments and harming their inhabitants. The claim comes after Moscow reacted to Mali and Burkina Faso's recent moves to remove French soldiers from their territories.

At a news briefing on Thursday, Quai d'Orsay spokesperson Anne-Claire Legendre accused Russia of "neocolonial political participation" in Africa, claiming that Moscow's "mercenaries" on the continent jeopardise the "security of the African people."

The previous day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed Paris was still treating African nations "from the standpoint of its colonial history."

"French colonialism on the African continent has come to an end. "The period in which African nations had to beg someone, particularly France, before making a sovereign choice has finished," Zakharova said at a news conference in Moscow.

We are unconcerned about what is said in Paris. "We are interested in what each nation says as well as what the African Union says," Zakharova continued.

Paris reluctantly agreed last month to Burkina Faso's demand that all French soldiers depart the nation within 30 days. Protesters in Ouagadougou criticised the former colonial authority while waving Russian flags.

Mali, another former French colonial property, had dismissed the French military mission six months earlier, dissatisfied with the lack of progress in the nine-year fight against the Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS) and Al-Qaeda affiliates. Paris has blamed Moscow for Bamako's decision.

The Central African Republic, another former French colony, was the first to show Paris the door and ask the private Russian military outfit Wagner Group to assist with its sectarian strife. While Western nations have condemned Wagner as a danger to "human rights" in the Central African Republic, the Bangui leadership claims Russia "saved" the country.