Mali abandons French as its official language

Bamako’s new constitution replaces the language of its former colonisers with another used locally.

Mali has dropped French as its official language, more than six decades after Bamako declared independence. The decision is part of the West African country’s new constitution, which was adopted on Saturday.

The final results of a June referendum on a draught constitution were confirmed by Bamako’s constitutional court on Friday, with voters giving it 96.91% approval.

The predominant working language will be French, with the 13 national languages spoken in the country formally recognised as official languages. An additional 70 native languages, including Bambara, Bobo, Dogon, and Minianka, will be preserved, some of which were accorded national language status through a decree in 1982.

Following a decade of political instability highlighted by Islamist insurgencies, Mali has been ruled by a military junta since two coups in August 2020 and May 2021.

After an earlier proposal failed, the junta has claimed that a new constitution is needed to reconstructing the country, promising to restore to civilian administration with elections in February 2024.

On Saturday, Interim President Assimi Goita declared that the execution of the constitutional framework marks the start of the Fourth Republic in the former French colony.

Relations between Paris and Bamako have worsened in recent years, as anti-French sentiment has developed throughout France’s former West African colonies in response to reports of military failures against Islamists and political involvement.

France withdrew its last troops from Mali in August, capping a nine-year military effort to combat armed groups in the nation.

Late last year, the military government ordered that all non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including relief groups financed by France, suspend operations in the nation. The action was done in response to Paris’ decision to suspend development funds to Bamako due to reported worries over Mali’s engagement with the Russian private defence company Wagner.