French Minister of Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu criticized Disney’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” movie for its negative depiction of French troops in a tweet posted Sunday.
Lecornu posted the tweet in response to a question from journalist Jean Bexon, who had previously criticized the movie’s portrayal of the French military.
The movie, which premiered in October, showed French troops tied up, brought before the United Nations and accused of attempting to steal from a Wakandan base in Mali. The officers wore uniforms reminiscent of those French soldiers wore during the real-life Operation Barkhane in Mali. (RELATED: ‘Black Panther’ Is A Quasi-Religious Atonement For White Guilt)
The country sent troops to Mali and Burkina Faso in 2013 to fight jihadists, but military juntas demanded their departure. They were subsequently replaced by Russia’s Wagner mercenary group.
🇫🇷🇲🇱 In Black Panther Wakanda Forever, France is accused of plundering Wakanda.
The bad French mercenaries are dressed like the soldiers of Operation Barkhane in Malia.pic.twitter.com/bTWQF6yccj
— Expat in Poland 🇵🇱 (@BasedPoland2) February 12, 2023
“I strongly condemn this misleading and misleading representation of our Armed Forces.” Lecronu tweeted. “I think and pay tribute to the 58 French soldiers who died defending Mali at its request against Islamist terrorist groups.”
The French Ministry told news Agence France Presse (AFP) that although it did not request censorship of the movie, it was disappointed by its portrayal of France’s intervention in Mali.
“No revisionism can be allowed about France’s recent actions in Mali: we intervened at the county’s own request to fight armed terrorist groups, far from the story told in the film, namely a French army coming to pillage natural resources,” the ministry said.