For strivers, New York is now the promised land. For the elite, a degree from Harvard is more fashionable than one from the the Sorbonne. The cabinet of President Abdoulaye Wade is sprinkled with people who have studied or worked in the States. English is now de rigeur. And ardor for all things American is exploited by marketers: ads for American Cola (endorsed by a Senegalese wrestler who calls himself Tyson) and Houston brand cigarettes plaster Dakar.
Mr. Wade's government has unabashedly sought to strengthen ties with Washington in recent years. Senegal has vowed to fight against terrorism. It has signed an agreement, sought by the Bush administration, promising to exempt American citizens from prosecution by the International Criminal Court. It has kept quiet on the war in Iraq.
An African diplomat said he sensed "an openness to the world outside the Francophone world" since Mr. Wade's election in 2000, and particularly since the Sept. 11 attacks. "I think Wade is playing that quite intelligently" the diplomat said. "He's very shrewd with the U.S. in particular. He realizes it's the only way to diminish the influence of France."
A French diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his country was hardly threatened by Dakar's efforts to make new friends.
"We have long regretted that the United States has done so little for the African continent, and we rejoice, seeing that that great country is trying to turn its words into deeds," the diplomat said. Feeling less charitable, the diplomat wondered how long it would take for the United States to reach the level of French aid and trade with Senegal: nearly $60 million in development and military assistance in 2003.
| Read Somini Sengupta's full Letter From Africa article "America Tugs at French-Accented Lands: It's Not Peanuts" for the New York Times
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