The only country who abused their colonies worse was Belgium.
They never allowed anyone "home grown" to run anything so they never learned how anything worked.
Even today if you are in a french colony and you want to send a letter to the colony next door your letter is bundled up and shipped to Paris where it is sorted and sent on it's way.
The Spanish were no angels but they kept a much looser rein on their people and while the guys at the very top would be from the motherland the guys lower down the chain were home grown.
The Dutch were probably worse than the French as colonizers; the Spanish were relatively benign (in comparison to Belgium or Holland), losing their colonies not to native independence movements but like the US with England, their own transplants or wars. The Latin American independence movements were led by Spaniards, and they lost the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War.
I don’t believe there are independence movements in France’s remaining colonies; like Puerto Ricans, they can look around them and see the potential dangers (and responsibilities) of independence. Haiti was the second country in the Western hemisphere to gain their independence (in 1804, after us); they can’t blame France any more. I saw a photo (looked like it was from a helicopter) of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic; the DR side was lush green, and a perfectly straight line separated it from what looked like a desert. Haitians had cut everything down for firewood, and never replanted any of the trees (and this was before the earthquake). If you think US blacks should be better off 150 years after slavery was ended (and 50 years after the freebies of the Great Society), what should we expect of Haiti’s blacks who have had independence for 210 years? No segregation, Jim Crow laws, etc.; a great growing climate, relative security (in terms of military defense)...and this is the result.
” They never allowed anyone “home grown” to run anything so they never learned how anything worked. “
Ever heard of books? It’s amazing that these thingies with ink and paper have the secrets of how everything works.
No excuse.