Why is the DRC wasting precious resources on an outdated testament to French colonial power?

Stade des Martyrs, one of the venues for ninth Jeux de la Francophonie in Kinshasa. About 4,000 people from 40 countries will take part in the games. Photograph: Justin Makangara

With a joyous rumba-filled opening ceremony, the 10 days of Le Jeux de la Francophonie begin on Friday in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Staged every four years since 1989, and aimed at people aged 18 to 35 from French-speaking countries, the games include photography, dance and painting alongside weightlifting, running and cycling. It is presented as a utopian vision of a world where the French language is shared and not imposed – a fiction too many go along with.