France says its troops misrepresented in 'Wakanda Forever'
France’s defense minister has denounced the way he says French soldiers deployed in Africa appear to be depicted in the Marvel Studios superhero film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” as “false and misleading.”
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.France’s defense minister has denounced the way he says French soldiers deployed in Africa appear to be depicted in the Marvel Studios superhero film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” as “false and misleading.”
Minister Sebastien Lecornu “strongly condemned” the similarity of a fictional group of villainous mercenaries with French armed forces members, in a tweet published Sunday about the film that came out in November in France and the U.S.
The plot of the film involves a fictional African country, Wakanda, faced with Western nations seeking to control fictional metal resources across the continent.
A scene from the film retweeted by the minister shows a group of soldiers with their hands tied behind their backs, wearing uniforms very similar to those of French troops deployed in Africa’s Sahel region, being brought before the United Nations in Geneva. The movie scene depicts mercenaries captured by Wakandans after they attacked an outpost in Mali.
“I am thinking of and honoring the 58 French soldiers who died defending Mali, at its request, in the face of Islamist terrorist groups,” Lecornu added.
The issue is sensitive in France, which completed its withdrawal from Mali last year after nine years fighting Islamic extremists alongside regional troops. Tensions have also grown over the past year between Mali, its African neighbors and Western nations after Mali’s transitional government allowed Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to deploy on its territory.
France has recently announced it is withdrawing troops from Burkina Faso this month following a demand by the West African country's military rulers.
About 3,000 French soldiers remain deployed in the Sahel region, many of those based in Niger and Chad.