Extract value and leave the locals alone to deal with the consequences - how progressive.
What exactly do you want France to do in Niger to atone for their sins? Build infrastructure, fund businesses, make deals with their government? In other words, you want to solve colonialism with more colonialism?
I fail to see how my "original premise was called out" or how I "moved my goalposts", but great job defending neocolonialism online - you really owned me!