Tony Chafer

Chirac and 'la Francafrique': No Longer a Family Affair

Since political independence, France has maintained a privileged sphere of influence—the so-called ‘pré carré’—in sub-Saharan Africa, based on a series of family-like ties with its former colonies. The cold war provided a favourable environment for the development of this special relationship, as the USA saw the French presence in this part of the world as useful for the containment of Communism. However, following the end of the cold war, France has had to adapt to a new international policy environment that is more competitive and less conducive to the maintenance of such family-like ties. This article charts the evolution of Franco-African relations in an era of globalisation, as French governments have undertaken a hesitant process of policy adaptation since the mid-1990s.

French African Policy in Historical Perspective

Two major themes underpin much of the literature published in recent years on French African policy. The first of these is the ‘successful management’ by France of the decolonisation process in French Black Africa, both before and immediately after political independence, which laid the basis for the maintenance of close Franco-African relations in the post-colonial period. The prevailing view has been that Black Africa was France’s ‘successful decolonisation’: there was no war of decolonisation, the transition from colonial rule was not marked by large-scale violence or bloodshed, it was a largely smooth process, and the transfer of power was managed in such a way as to enable France to maintain its presence and a sphere of influence in Black Africa after political independence.

French colonial empire and the popular front

At the dawn of a new millennium, it is clear that one of the most significant events of the twentieth century is the end of the empire. Yet the importance of Frances empire in shaping contemporary France and French national identity has been neglected, or at least substantially under-estimated, by historians. In keeping with this trend, the traditional focus of histories of the Popular Front has been exclusively on metropolitan France. The central interest of this book is that it shifts the focus from the metropole to empire. In so doing, it shows that the history of the former cannot be divorced from the latter. At the same time, by extending our perspective to empire, it widens our understanding of the Popular Front experience and demonstrates how the 1936-8 period represents an important turning-point in French history, marking the beginning of an irreversible process of reform that was ultimately to lead to decolonisation and the end of empire. This book will be essential reading for historians of twentieth-century France, as well as those with an interest in the history of empire, colonialism, the colonial legacy and postcolonialism.

Introduction: peace operations and francophone spaces

This introductory article presents the history of francophone spaces to critically assess their specificity, and to situate them in academic debates on peace operations. It argues that the specificity is the inescapable a priori context of peace missions, even if this context is rapidly evolving and in interaction with non-francophone spaces. The specificity is nevertheless increasingly difficult to identify, as new practices and conditions emerge and as the lines between different francophone spaces and between francophone and non-francophone spaces are increasingly fluid. The article explores the range of possibilities that emerge from such interrogations, and emphasizes that to add the experiences of ‘francophone spaces’ to analyses of peace operations is to confront the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion already expressed by the terms ‘francophone’ and francophonie. This approach points to where and how hegemonic practices move and change between locations and different contexts, and where and how the organization or reorganization of power is negotiated, imposed and/or resisted across ‘francophone’ and ‘non-francophone’ spaces.

From Confidence to Confusion: Franco-African Relations in the Era of Globalisation

France’s governing elites of both the Left and the Right have, since the inter-war period, shared the belief that a key pillar of France’s status as a world power is its role in Africa. During the early years of the Third Republic the notion of France projecting itself as an ‘African’power was fiercely criticised by those who feared that the drive into Africa would be at the expense of France regaining its position as the leading power in continental Europe.1 However the role played by African troops in the defence of France in two world wars helped to cement the notion of a special link between France and Africa. Moreover, after the Second World War politicians of both the Left and the Right saw the maintenance of France’s African empire as essential to the restoration of the country’s world power status and did whatever they could to reinforce the links between France and Africa. The renaming of the empire as the ‘French Union’ was emblematic of these efforts and, when war broke out in Indochina, the ‘Union’ became essentially a union between France and Africa. Since then, alongside its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, its status as one of the world’s officially recognised nuclear powers, its position as the world’s fourth largest economy and its role as a leading member of the European Community, France’s role as an ‘African’ power has been seen as integral to its world power status. Only recently has this view begun to be challenged.

Education and Political Socialisation of a National-Colonial Political Elite in French West Africa, 1936–47

Much has been written about the first generation of political leaders of French West Africa, their leadership skills, personal resources and networks. Their attachment to, and close links with, France played a crucial role in determining the pattern of decolonisation in the colony. Through a study of their political socialisation, this article seeks to throw light on the experiences and influences that fashioned their thinking about politics and created a common stock of ideas, norms and values. Focusing in particular on their education at the William Ponty School and two key moments that shaped their political thinking—the Popular Front period (1936–38) and the immediate post-war period (1944–47)—it will be argued that an appreciation of their process of political socialisation enhances our understanding of their political choices. A final section reflects on the legacy of this process in the postcolonial period.

Hollande and Africa Policy

Studies of French Africa policy have traditionally focused on its neo-colonial basis and the often corrupt nature of the relations it engendered because of the connivances of semi-official and unofficial networks and covert practices that characterised it. These are often referred to in the literature as la Françafrique. In seeking to understand François Hollandes Africa policy this article moves away from a neo-colonial, Françafrique analytical framework and instead seeks to engage with the continuity versus change debate in French Africa policy through the lens of geopolitics. The three central themes of Hollandes Africa policy—security, partnership and trade—are analysed, focusing firstly on the French interventions in Africa, notably in Mali, since 2012, before discussing French engagement with African regional organisations, such as the Economic Community of West African States, and the increasing importance attached to economic and trade links. The article ends with a brief survey of some of the challenges facing French Africa policy.

From rivalry to partnership? critical reflections on Anglo-French cooperation in Africa

At the December 1998 Saint-Malo summit, Britain and France promised to set aside past rivalries and work together on African issues. While brief indications were given as to possible areas of bilateral and ‘bi-multi’ cooperation, the terms and scope of this ‘partnership’ were not spelt out. Was this to involve only sporadic collaboration? Or was it to be an institutionalised partnership, such as the Franco-German tandem, or perhaps a more intuitive alliance, such as the Anglo-American ‘special relationship’? These questions are central to this article, which begins by showing how Anglo-French relations in Africa were largely marked by rivalry from the colonial era to the early post-Cold War period. Drawing upon extensive interviews, it demonstrates how, over the last decade or so, closer linkages have developed between the UK and French administrations and how there has been a greater degree of cooperation in response to the key challenges of Africa. It then uses a neo-classical realist framework to explain the readiness or reluctance of Britain and France to collaborate on Africa. It concludes by suggesting that, while there has been progress in ‘deconflictualising’ African policies, cooperation has been, and is likely to remain, limited.

The AU: a new arena for Anglo-French cooperation in Africa?

At their 1998 Saint-Malo summit, the UK and French governments promised to set aside a century of rivalry and cooperate more closely on Africa. They also signalled their intention to develop a continent-wide focus on Africa, which would include building up the capacity of regional organisations. They were helped in this latter goal by the winding up of the OAU and its replacement by the AU in 2002. This article therefore examines the extent and nature of Anglo-French cooperation vis-a-vis the AU. It sets out briefly the history of UK and French neglect of the OAU, reviews the key developments that pushed for a more coordinated stance on the AU, and then – drawing on extensive interviews in London, Paris, Brussels, Addis Ababa and Dakar – evaluates the extent of Anglo-French cooperation. It concludes by noting the uneven nature of Anglo-French cooperation vis-a-vis the AU and assesses the reasons for this.

The UK and France in West Africa:towards convergence?

ABSTRACT This article examines convergence between the United Kingdom and France in West Africa since 1997–1998. This readiness to work together on African issues is in stark contrast to the history of rivalry between the two nations on the continent that dates back at least to the Fashoda incident of 1898. The article shows how security concerns in West Africa were a key driver of Anglo-French convergence and then goes on to examine how far the United Kingdom and France have been able to move beyond their traditional, largely unilateral, policies within their spheres of influence in West Africa and adopt a new, more cooperative approach. The article uses three case studies—convergence within the United Nations Security Council and the European Union and engagement with Economic Community of West African States—to provide examples of different areas of convergence. It then goes on to ask how far we can generalize from these case studies about what enables convergence and cooperation and what hinders them. Finally, the question of regime efficacy, in terms of the outcomes of convergence, is addressed.