The ‘Responsible Relations’ Tour – Macron in the DRC
Tracking Global Events | 7 March 2023
On Wednesday 1st March 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron began a tour of several countries in Central Africa, including Gabon, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with an aim to improve French relations in the region and address growing anti-French sentiment, which has risen dramatically in recent months.
Following Macron’s arrival in the DRC on Friday 3rd March, Premise launched a country-wide survey to explore public perceptions of international allies and political figures, as well as uncover public sentiment regarding personal safety and levels of optimism about the future of the DRC. Of those surveyed, 51% believe that the DRC as a country is heading in the wrong direction and 54% believe that the overall safety conditions in the DRC have worsened in the last year.
Key Insights
Public Safety
Of those who believe the DRC to be either less or much less safe than a year ago, 56% believe this to be partly due to the conflict in the east of the country and 51% attribute this partly to the increase in crime.
International Influence
Respondents believe that Russia (38%) and China (16%) have been the best and second best allies to the DRC respectively. In the DRC, a former Belgian colony, Belgium (15%) is perceived to be a better ally than the USA (15%) and France (12%).
Perceptions of President Macron
95% of respondents were aware of Macron’s visit, with 44% opposing or strongly opposing it. 60% of those opposing the visit believe France is only interested in the DRC’s natural resources. 45% of respondents are concerned about how the DRC will use French investment.
Methodology
Targeting a convenience sample, Premise launched a survey asking Contributors living in the DRC a number of fixed response questions to gather contextual insight on current affairs perceptions, pressing safety concerns, international influence and sentiment on Macron’s visit.
Outcome
Within 24 hours, Premise surveyed 500 Contributors achieving the following demographic breakdown:
- Gender: 70% male / 30% female
- Age: 18 to 25: 50% / 26 to 35: 35% / 36 to 45: 10% / 46 and above: 5%.