France–Africa relations cover a period of several centuries, starting during theMiddle Ages, and have been very influential to both regions. French soft power in Africa is often referred toFrançafrique.
The Defense Agreements between France and French-speaking African countries established close cooperation, particularly in defense and security matters. Often accompanied by secret clauses, they allowed France to intervene militarily: to rescue regimes in order to establish the legitimacy of political powers favorable to its interests, to fight jihadism, particularly in the Sahel, or to put an end to civil wars. The departure of French troops from the African continent signals the end of a world, that of interventions in Chad, Togo, Gabon, Rwanda, Djibouti, Zaire, Somalia, Ivory Coast, Mali, Libya, and Cameroon. It also marks the end ofFrançafrique.[1]
Following the invasion ofSpain by theBerber CommanderTariq ibn Ziyad in 711, during the 8th century Arab and Berber armies invaded Southern France, as far asPoitiers and theRhône valley as far asAvignon,Lyon,Autun, until the turning point of theBattle of Tours in 732.[2]
Cultural exchanges followed. In the 10th century, the French monkGerbert d'Aurillac, who became the first French PopeSylvester II in 999, traveled toSpain to learn about Islamic culture, and may even have studied at the University ofAl-Qarawiyyin inFez,Morocco.[3]
France would become again threatened by the proximity of the expanding MoroccanAlmoravid Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries.[4]
According to some historians, French merchants from theNormandy cities ofDieppe andRouen traded with theGambia andSenegal coasts, and with theIvory Coast and theGold Coast, between 1364 and 1413.[5][6] Probably as a result, an ivory-carving industry developed in Dieppe after 1364.[7] These travels however were soon forgotten with the advent of theHundred Years War in France.[7]
In 1402, the French adventurerJean de Béthencourt leftLa Rochelle and sailed along the coast ofMorocco to conquer theCanary Islands.[8]
France signed a first treaty orCapitulation with theMamluk Sultanate in 1500, during the rules ofLouis XII and SultanBajazet II,[9][10] in which theSultan of Egypt made concessions to the French and the Catalans.
Important contacts betweenFrancis I of France and the Ottoman EmperorSuleiman the Magnificent were initiated in 1526, leading to aFranco-Ottoman alliance. This alliance soon created close contacts between France and theBarbary States ofNorthern Africa, which were in the process of becoming vassals to the Ottoman Empire. In 1533, thefirst Ottoman embassy to France was led byHayreddin Barbarossa, then head of the Barbary States inAlgiers.
Suleiman ordered Barbarossa to put his fleet at the disposition of Francis I to attackGenoa and theMilanese.[11] In July 1533 Francis received Ottoman representatives atLe Puy, and in return he dispatchedAntonio Rincon to Barbarossa inNorth Africa and then to Suleiman inAsia Minor.[12]
Various military actions were also coordinated during theItalian War of 1551–1559. In 1551, the Ottomans, accompanied by the French ambassadorGabriel de Luez d'Aramon, succeeded in theSiege of Tripoli.[13]
In 1533, Francis I sent ColonelPierre de Piton as ambassador to Morocco, thus initiating officialFrance-Morocco relations.[14] In a letter to Francis I dated August 13, 1533, theWattassid ruler ofFes,Ahmed ben Mohammed, welcomed French overtures and granted freedom of shipping and protection of French traders.
France started to send ships to Morocco in 1555, under the rule ofHenry II, son ofFrancis I.[15] As early as 1577, France established a consul inFez, Morocco, in the person ofGuillaume Bérard, the first European country to do so.[16][17] Bérard was succeeded byArnoult de Lisle and thenÉtienne Hubert d'Orléans in the position of physician and representative of France at the side of the Sultan. These contacts with France occurred during the landmark rules ofAbd al-Malik and his successor, MoulayAhmad al-Mansur.
In order to continue the exploration efforts of his predecessorHenry IV,Louis XIII considered a colonial venture inMorocco and sent a fleet underIsaac de Razilly in 1619.[18] Razilly was able to reconnoiter the coast as far asMogador. In 1624, he was put in charge of an embassy to the pirate harbour ofSalé in Morocco, in order to solve the affair of the library ofMulay Zidan.[19]
In 1630, Razilly was able to negotiate the purchase of French slaves from the Moroccans. He visited Morocco again in 1631 to participate in the negotiation of theFranco-Moroccan Treaty (1631).[20] This treaty gave France preferential treatment, known asCapitulations: advantageous tariffs, the establishment of a consulate, and freedom of religion for French subjects.[21]
In 1659, France established the trading post ofSaint-Louis, Senegal. The European powers continued contending for the island of Gorée, until in 1677,France led byJean II d'Estrées during theFranco-Dutch War (1672–1678) ended up in possession of the island, which it would keep for the next 300 years.[22] In 1758 the French settlementwas captured by a British expedition as part of theSeven Years' War, but was later returned to France in 1783.
TheFrench conquest of Algeria took place from 1830 to 1847, resulting in the establishment of Algeria as a French colony. Algerian resistance forces were divided between forces underAhmed Bey atConstantine, primarily in the east, and nationalist forces inKabylie and the west. Treaties with the nationalists under`Abd al-Qādir enabled the French to first focus on the elimination of the remaining Ottoman threat, achieved with the 1837Capture of Constantine. Al-Qādir continued to give stiff resistance in the west. Finally driven intoMorocco in 1842 by large-scale and heavy-handed French military action, he continued to wage a guerilla war until Morocco, under French diplomatic pressure following its defeat in theFirst Franco-Moroccan War, drove him out of Morocco. He surrendered to French forces in 1847.
France again showed a strong interest in Morocco in the 1830s, as a possible extension of her sphere of influence in theMaghreb, afterAlgeria andTunisia. TheFirst Franco-Moroccan War took place in 1844, as a consequence of Morocco's alliance withAlgeria'sAbd-El-Kader againstFrance. Following several incident at the border between Algeria and Morocco, and the refusal of Morocco to abandon its support to Algeria, France faced Morocco victoriously in theBombardment of Tangiers (August 6, 1844), theBattle of Isly (August 14, 1844), and theBombardment of Mogador (August 15–17, 1844).[23] The war was formally ended September 10 with the signing of theTreaty of Tangiers, in which Morocco agreed to arrest and outlawAbd al-Qādir, reduce the size of its garrison at Oujda, and establish a commission to demarcate the border. The border, which is essentially the modern border between Morocco and Algeria, was agreed in theTreaty of Lalla Maghnia.
TheMay 1958 seizure of power in Algiers by French army units and French settlers opposed to concessions in the face of Arab nationalist insurrection ripped apart the unstable Fourth Republic. The National Assembly brought him back to power during the May 1958 crisis. De Gaulle founded the Fifth Republic with a strengthened presidency, and he was elected in the latter role. He managed to keep France together while taking steps to end the war, much to the anger of the Pieds-Noirs (Frenchmen settled in Algeria) and the military; both previously had supported his return to power to maintain colonial rule. De Gaulle granted independence to Algeria in 1962.[24]
From 1880, France endeavoured to build a railway system, centered on theSaint-Louis-Dakar line that involved taking military control of the surrounding areas, leading to the military occupation of mainland Senegal.[25] The construction of theDakar-Niger Railway also began at the end of the 19th century under the direction of the French officerGallieni.
The first Governor General of Senegal was named in 1895, overseeing most of the territorial conquests of Western Africa, and in 1904, the territories were formally namedFrench West Africa (AOF: "Afrique Occidentale Française"), of which Senegal was a part and Dakar its capital.
French conservatives were disillusioned with the colonial experience after the disasters in Indochina and Algeria. They wanted to cut all ties to the numerous colonies in Frenchsub-Saharan Africa. During the war, de Gaulle had successfully based his Free France movement and the African colonies. After a visit in 1958, he made a commitment to make sub-Saharan French Africa a major component of his foreign-policy.[26] All the colonies in 1958, exceptGuinea, voted to remain in the French Community, with representation in Parliament and a guarantee of French aid. In practice, nearly all the colonies became independent in the late 1950s, but maintained very strong connections.[27] Under close supervision from the president, French advisors played a major role in civil and military affairs, thwarted coups, and, occasionally, replaced upstart local leaders. The French colonial system had always been based primarily on local leadership under a policy ofindirect rule.
The French colonial goal had been to assimilate the natives into mainstream French culture, with a strong emphasis on the French language. From de Gaulle's point of view, close association gave legitimacy to his visions of global client grandeur, certified his humanitarian credentials, provided access to oil, uranium and other minerals, and provided a small but steady market for French manufacturers. Above all it guaranteed the vitality of French language and culture in a large slice of the world that was rapidly growing in population. De Gaulle's successorsGeorges Pompidou (1959–74) andValéry Giscard d'Estaing (1974–1981) continued de Gaulle's African policy. It was supported with French military units, and a large naval presence in the Indian Ocean. Over 260,000 Frenchmen worked in Africa, focused especially on delivering oil supplies. There was some effort to build up oil refineries and aluminum smelters, but little effort to develop small-scale local industry, which the French wanted to monopolize for the mainland.Senegal,Ivory Coast,Gabon, andCameroon were the largest and most reliable African allies, and received most of the investments.[28] During the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), France supported breakawayBiafra, but only on a limited scale, providing mercenaries and obsolete weaponry. De Gaulle's goals were to protect its nearby ex-colonies from Nigeria, to stop Soviet advances, and to acquire a foothold in the oil-rich Niger delta.[29]
Socialist rhetoric had long attacked the imperialistic program of the French overseas empire, and its continuity in Francophone Africa after those states gained independence. Socialist presidentFrançois Mitterrand (1981–1996) ignored that old rhetoric, and maintained the benevolent French supervision of the former colonies. However, unlike his predecessors who maintained strong ties with South Africa, Mitterrand denounced the crimes ofApartheid.[30]
Mitterrand paid special attention toGabon because of its strategic location and important economy. Mitterrand generally supported the regime of Gabon's presidentOmar Bongo, who had ruled since 1967. He mostly ignored the long-standing socialist and communist complaints about injustice and corruption in Gabon.[31]
The French daily newspaperLe Monde printed newly declassified government memos and diplomatic telegrams revealing Mitterrand's support forHabyariamana's regime on July 6, 2007. The official French policy was to push Habyarimana in sharing power, while stoppingPaul Kagamé'sFPR's military advance, supported byUganda.[32] On April 2, 1993, after an agreement between Habyarimana and Kagamé which prepared the August 1993Arusha Accords, conservative Prime ministerEdouard Balladur envisioned sending 1,000 more soldiers, a proposition accepted by Mitterrand.[32] The documents prove that the French government was aware of ethnic cleansings committed byHutu extremists as soon as February 1993, a year before theassassination of Habyarimana which triggered a full-scale genocide.[32]
Algeria–France relations
Angola–France relations
Benin–France relations
Botswana–France relations
Burkina Faso–France relations
Burundi–France relations
Cameroon–France relations
Cape Verde–France relations
Central African Republic–France relations
Chad–France relations
Comoros–France relations
Democratic Republic of the Congo–France relations
Republic of the Congo–France relations
Djibouti–France relations
Egypt–France relations
Equatorial Guinea–France relations
Eritrea–France relations
Eswatini–France relations
Ethiopia–France relations
France–Gabon relations
France–Gambia relations
France–Ghana relations
France–Guinea relations
France–Guinea-Bissau relations
France–Ivory Coast relations
France–Kenya relations
France–Lesotho relations
France–Liberia relations
France–Libya relations
France–Madagascar relations
France–Malawi relations
France–Mali relations
France–Mauritania relations
France–Mauritius relations
France–Morocco relations
France–Mozambique relations
France–Namibia relations
France–Niger relations
France–Nigeria relations
France–Rwanda relations
France–São Tomé and Príncipe relations
France–Senegal relations
France–Seychelles relations
France–Sierra Leone relations
France–Somalia relations
France–South Africa relations
France–South Sudan relations
France–Sudan relations
France–Tanzania relations
France–Togo relations
France–Tunisia relations
France–Uganda relations
France–Zambia relations
France–Zimbabwe relations
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