Présence militaire française en Afrique (document en anglais)

A. Sarkozy: the call for the protection of the French Africa

1. The French point of view in African politics

France From 40 years has been continuously reducing its military presence in Africa. In 1960 there were about 30,000 troops in Africa, but in the fall of 1980 it was only 15,000 of them. It is because of the change of French position in Africa and its new military strategy. Those changes in perception of French presence in Africa have been provoked mostly by the past dramatic events in Rwanda and in Zaire, where France gave its support to discriminated regime of Mobutu. The new ideas have been presented in the White Book in 1998, that has been prepared by the new administration of Lionel Jospin. Firstly, in relations with Africa it should be a more restrictive recourse to bilateral military intervention. Secondly, permanent presence of French forces in Africa should be reduced. According to that the existing military forces of more than 8,000 troops were to be cut to around 5,500. Moreover France was to close its bases in Cameroon and the Central African Republic, leaving bases operational in only five African countries: Chad, Gabon, Djibouti, Cote d’Ivoire and in Senegal. These cuts have been largely determined by budgetary constrains. The cuts are nevertheless contextualized by the changing French position In Africa. A loss of French legitimacy and influence, displacement from the great lake region and the encroachment of the united states, Britain and the Anglophone African countries have ended the exclusivity of French influence in francophone Africa. Finally, there has been movement in the French strategy of working with the United Nations and multilateral organizations. There are over 5,000 French soldiers in Cote D’Ivoire as part of a United Nations force and another 700 peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of a European Union force. France conducts joint maneuvers and peacekeeping training through the Reinforcement of African Peacekeeping Capacities (RECAMP) program It is a initiatives to beef up the capacity of African states, under the aegis of the UN and in close co-operation with the Organization of African Unity, to conduct peacekeeping operations in Africa. Its objectivity is to train a sizeable African force – up to 4-5,000 troops in the techniques of peacekeeping and to equip and support the force appropriately for rapid intervention in regional crises. Moreover, it conducts its Peacekeeping School (EMP) in Mali, which has trained over 800 African officers. These institutions intended to support the African Standing Force, a 20,000 strong rapid-response peacekeeping force projected to be ready by 2010.

B. France in Africa Today

Of 12,000 French troops engaged in peacekeeping operations around the world, nearly half are deployed in Africa in both military and advisory capacities, according to the French Ministry of Defense. There are five French overseas bases in Africa: Djibouti, Core d’Ivoire, Senegal, Gabon and Chad. The largest one is at Djibouti. That base is very important to France. Djibouti sits on the coast of the Horn of Africa on the strategically important Bab-el-Mandeb strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the maritime gateway to the Indian Ocean and the Asia-Pacific region. France explains its role in Djibouti in terms of its defense against Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia and against regional instability, but the base is of far greater geopolitical and geostrategic importance than that. From Djibouti France has its role in the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean. It gives it and entrée to the Arab League and regional co-operative fora, a further influence in the OAU and an ally in the UN. From Djibouti France is able to project its forces into three theatres: first, into Africa, where troops from Djibouti took part in an operation in Somalia in 1992-1993, in Rwanda In 1994 and in Comores in 1995.secondly, into the Middle east, in the 1991 Gulf War and finally as a vital link with its territories in the Indian Ocean.

However, according to the new policy of N. Sarkozy the French military presence in Africa will be reorganized and stripped down. Operation Unicorn, due to end once elections scheduled for November are held, will be wound up. The bases in N’Djamena and Bangui will be dismantled once those regimes are deemed stable. The base in Djibouti, whose 2,800 troops make it France’s biggest overseas, is due to be scaled down in favour of the new base being set up in the Gulf in Abu Dhabi. In the long term, four forward bases would remain, in Dakar, Libreville, Djibouti and the island of Reunion. They would be bases for regional military collaboration, training and equipping African peacekeeping battalions. The number of French troops deployed in sub-Saharan Africa (currently more than 9,000) would be halved. French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised a wide-ranging and comprehensive review of France's defence agreements with several African countries. New defense agreements "must rest on the strategic interests of France and its partners," Sarkozy said, adding that new agreements would be made after dialogue that took full account of the wishes of African states for a "new strategic partnership". In addition, "all defense agreements between France and African countries must be made public in their entirety," he said, signaling a major shift towards openness in France's foreign relations.

France through the European forces (EUFOR) –

France also wants to give its African policy a European context. There is Operation EUFOR with mostly French soldiers,

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