View source for France–Africa relations

[[File:France-Africa relations.png|thumb|300px|Map of France-Africa relations.]]
{{Foreign relations of France by continent}}
'''France–Africa relations''' cover a period of several centuries, starting around in the [[Middle Ages]], and have been very influential to both regions.

==First exchanges (8th century)==
{{main|Islamic invasion of Gaul}}
[[File:Muslim troops leaving Narbonne to Pepin le Bref in 759.jpg|thumb|Muslim troops leaving [[Narbonne]] to [[Pépin le Bref]], in 759, after 40 years of occupation.]]
[[Image:Map Almoravid empire-en.svg|thumb|The [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravid Empire]] at its greatest extent]]
Following the invasion of [[Spain]] by the [[Berber people|Berber]] Commander [[Tariq ibn Ziyad]] in 711, during the 8th century Arab and Berber armies invaded Southern France, as far as [[Poitiers]] and the [[Rhône valley]] as far as [[Avignon]], [[Lyon]], [[Autun]], until the turning point of the [[Battle of Tours]] in 732.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=o4vrUbMK5eEC&pg=PA1 ''Tricolor and crescent: France and the Islamic world'' by William E. Watson p.1]</ref>

Cultural exchanges followed. In the 10th century, the French monk [[Gerbert d'Aurillac]], who became the first French Pope [[Sylvester II]] in 999, traveled to [[Spain]] to learn about Islamic culture, and may even have studied at the University of [[Al-Qarawiyyin]] in [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]], [[Morocco]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Sb5uyUpAr1QC&pg=PA29 ''The Champions of Change'' Dr. Allah Bakhsh Malik p.29''ff'']</ref>

France would become again threatened by the proximity of the expanding Moroccan [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravid Empire]] in the 11th and 12th centuries.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=4gVIt5u0U5wC&pg=PA31 ''Reconquest and crusade in medieval Spain'' by Joseph F. O'Callaghan p.31]</ref>

==Early French explorations (14–15th century)==
According to some historians, French merchants from the [[Normandy]] cities of [[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]] and [[Rouen]] traded with the [[Gambia]] and [[Senegal]] coasts, and with the [[Ivory Coast]] and the [[Gold Coast (region)|Gold Coast]], between 1364 and 1413.<ref>''African glory: the story of vanished Negro civilizations'' by John Coleman De Graft-Johnson p.121 [https://books.google.com/books?id=LY5Lmc-To7cC&pg=PA121]</ref><ref>''Carter G. Woodson: a historical reader'' by Carter Godwin Woodson p.43 [https://books.google.com/books?id=4EM6yUdSdlYC&pg=PA43]</ref> Probably as a result, an ivory-carving industry developed in Dieppe after 1364.<ref name="Coleman 122">''African glory: the story of vanished Negro civilizations'' by John Coleman De Graft-Johnson p.122 [https://books.google.com/books?id=LY5Lmc-To7cC&pg=PA122]</ref> These travels however were soon forgotten with the advent of the [[Hundred Years War]] in France.<ref name="Coleman 122"/>

In 1402, the French adventurer [[Jean de Béthencourt]] left [[La Rochelle]] and sailed along the coast of [[Morocco]] to conquer the [[Canary islands]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=RNSwXN3-LZMC&pg=PA25 ''Canary Islands'' by Sarah Andrews,Josephine Quintero p.25]</ref>

==Barbary States==
{{further|Franco-Ottoman alliance}}

===Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt===
[[File:Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha.jpg|thumb|[[Hayreddin Barbarossa]], ruler of [[Algiers]], led an [[Ottoman embassy to France (1533)|Ottoman embassy to France]] in 1533.]]
France signed a first treaty or ''[[Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire|Capitulation]]'' with the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate]] in 1500, during the rules of [[Louis XII]] and Sultan [[Bayezid II|Bajazet II]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=cq90z2Ij6jsC&pg=PA139 ''Three years in Constantinople'' by Charles White p.139]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=cq90z2Ij6jsC&pg=PA147 ''Three years in Constantinople'' by Charles White p.147]</ref> in which the [[Sultan of Egypt]] made concessions to the French and the Catalans.

Important contacts between [[Francis I of France]] and the Ottoman Emperor [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] were initiated in 1526, leading to a [[Franco-Ottoman alliance]]. This alliance soon created close contacts between France and the [[Barbary States]] of [[Northern Africa]], which were in the process of becoming vassals to the Ottoman Empire. In 1533, the [[Ottoman embassy to France (1533)|first Ottoman embassy to France]] was led by [[Hayreddin Barbarossa]], then head of the Barbary States in [[Algiers]].

Suleiman ordered Barbarossa to put his fleet at the disposition of Francis I to attack [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]] and the [[Duchy of Milan|Milanese]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=U09VIUxJkHwC&pg=RA1-PA134 ''Suleiman the Magnificent 1520–1566'' Roger Bigelow Merriman p.139]</ref> In July 1533 Francis received Ottoman representatives at [[Le Puy-en-Velay|Le Puy]], and in return he dispatched [[Antonio Rincon]] to Barbarossa in [[North Africa]] and then to Suleiman in [[Asia Minor]].<ref name="Merriman140">[https://books.google.com/books?id=U09VIUxJkHwC&pg=RA1-PA135 ''Suleiman the Magnificent 1520–1566'' Roger Bigelow Merriman p.140]</ref>

Various military actions were also coordinated during the [[Italian War of 1551–1559]]. In 1551, the Ottomans, accompanied by the French ambassador [[Gabriel de Luetz|Gabriel de Luez d'Aramon]], succeeded in the [[Siege of Tripoli (1551)|Siege of Tripoli]].<ref name="Braudel">''The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean world in the age of Philip II'' by Fernand Braudel p.920- [https://books.google.com/books?id=LPp63EKb9moC&pg=PA920]</ref>

===Morocco===
In 1533, Francis I sent Colonel [[Pierre de Piton]] as ambassador to Morocco, thus initiating official [[France-Morocco relations]].<ref>"Francois I, hoping that Morocco would open up to France as easily as Mexico had to Spain, sent a commission, half commercial and half diplomatic, which he confided to one Pierre de Piton. The story of his mission is not without interest" in ''The conquest of Morocco'' by Cecil Vivian Usborne, S. Paul & co. ltd., 1936, p.33</ref> In a letter to Francis I dated August 13, 1533, the [[Wattassid]] ruler of [[Fes]], [[Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad|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 of [[Henry II of France|Henry II]], son of [[Francis I of France|Francis I]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=iFtVfFaj8moC&pg=PA32 ''Travels in Morocco, Volume 2'' James Richardson p.32]</ref> As early as 1577, France established a consul in [[Fes|Fez]], Morocco, in the person of [[Guillaume Bérard]], the first European country to do so.<ref name="Stuart">[https://books.google.com/books?id=VGqmAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA38 ''The International City of Tangier'', Stuart, p.38]</ref><ref name="SEFT">[https://books.google.com/books?id=VQcNAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA149 ''Studies in Elizabethan Foreign Trade'' p.149]</ref> Bérard was succeeded by [[Arnoult de Lisle]] and then [[Étienne Hubert (Arabist)|Étienne 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 of [[Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi|Abd al-Malik]] and his successor, Moulay [[Ahmad al-Mansur]].

[[File:Castelo Real Adriaen Matham 1641.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mogador]] was explored as a possible French settlement by [[Isaac de Razilly]] under Louis XIII.]]
In order to continue the exploration efforts of his predecessor [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]], [[Louis XIII]] considered a colonial venture in [[Morocco]] and sent a fleet under [[Isaac de Razilly]] in 1619.<ref>"The narrative really begins in 1619, when the adventurer, Admiral S. John de Razilly, resolved to go to Africa. France had no colony in Morocco; hence, King Louis XIII gave whole-hearted support to de Razilly." in ''Round table of Franciscan research, Volumes 17–18'' Capuchin Seminary of St. Anthony, 1952</ref> Razilly was able to reconnoiter the coast as far as [[Mogador]]. In 1624, he was put in charge of an embassy to the pirate harbour of [[Salé]] in Morocco, in order to solve the affair of the library of [[Mulay Zidan]].<ref>[''The chevalier de Montmagny (1601–1657): first governor of New France'' by Jean-Claude Dubé, Elizabeth Rapley p.111]</ref>

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 the [[Franco-Moroccan Treaty (1631)]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QbZRl9DMIPMC&pg=PA114 ''A man of three worlds'' Mercedes García-Arenal, Gerard Albert Wiegers p.114]</ref> This treaty gave France preferential treatment, known as [[Capitulation (surrender)|Capitulations]]: advantageous tariffs, the establishment of a consulate, and freedom of religion for French subjects.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=KPM3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA259 ''France in the age of Louis XIII and Richelieu'' by Victor Lucien Tapié p.259]</ref>

==Senegal (1659)==
{{main|French conquest of Senegal}}
In 1659, France established the trading post of [[Saint-Louis, Senegal]]. The European powers continued contending for the island of Gorée, until in 1677, [[Early Modern France|France]] led by [[Jean II d'Estrées]] during the [[Franco-Dutch War]] (1672–1678) ended up in possession of the island, which it would keep for the next 300 years.<ref name="books.google.com">''International Dictionary of Historic Places: Middle East and Africa'' by Trudy Ring p.303 [https://books.google.com/books?id=2aOpeBnbxvsC&pg=PA303]</ref> In 1758 the French settlement [[Capture of Senegal|was captured by a British expedition]] as part of the [[France in the Seven Years War|Seven Years' War]], but was later returned to France in 1783.

==Maghreb==

===French conquest of Algeria (1830)===
The [[French 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 under [[Ahmed Bey]] at [[Constantine, Algeria|Constantine]], primarily in the east, and nationalist forces in [[Kabylie]] and the west.  Treaties with the nationalists under [[Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri|`Abd al-Qādir]] enabled the French to first focus on the elimination of the remaining Ottoman threat, achieved with the 1837 [[Capture of Constantine]].  Al-Qādir continued to give stiff resistance in the west.  Finally driven into [[Morocco]] 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 the [[First Franco-Moroccan War]], drove him out of Morocco. He surrendered to French forces in 1847.

===First Franco-Moroccan War (1844)===
[[File:First Franco-Moroccan War 1844.jpg|thumb|Theater of the [[First Franco-Moroccan War]] (1844).]]
[[France]] again showed a strong interest in Morocco in the 1830s, as a possible extension of her sphere of influence in the [[Maghreb]], after [[Algeria]] and [[Tunisia]]. The [[First Franco-Moroccan War]] took place in 1844, as a consequence of Morocco's alliance with [[Algeria]]'s [[Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri|Abd-El-Kader]] against [[France]]. 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 the [[Bombardment of Tangiers]] (August 6, 1844), the [[Battle of Isly]] (August 14, 1844), and the [[Bombardment of Mogador]] (August 15–17, 1844).<ref name="Sondhaus 72">[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka-1eQRnXMUC&pg=PA71 ''Navies in modern world history'' Lawrence Sondhaus p.71''ff'']</ref> The war was formally ended September 10 with the signing of the [[Treaty of Tangiers]], in which Morocco agreed to arrest and outlaw [[Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri|Abd 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 the [[Treaty of Lalla Maghnia]].

==Algeria 1958==
The [[May 1958 crisis|May 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.<ref>Winock, Michel. "De Gaulle and the Algerian Crisis 1958–1962." in Hugh Gough and John Home, eds., ''De Gaulle and Twentieth Century France'' (1994) pp 71–82.</ref>

==French West Africa==
{{main|French West Africa}}
[[File:French West Africa 1913 map.png|thumb|In 1904, Dakar became the capital of [[French West Africa]].]]
From 1880, France endeavoured to build a railway system, centered on the [[Saint-Louis, Senegal|Saint-Louis]]-[[Dakar]] line that involved taking military control of the surrounding areas, leading to the military occupation of mainland Senegal.<ref name="Klein 59">''Slavery and colonial rule in French West Africa'' by [[Martin A. Klein]], p.59 [https://books.google.com/books?id=-NnSmbqbtfoC&pg=PA59]</ref> The construction of the [[Dakar-Niger Railway]] also began at the end of the 19th century under the direction of the French officer [[Joseph Gallieni|Gallieni]].

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 named [[French West Africa]] (AOF: "Afrique Occidentale Française"), of which Senegal was a part and Dakar its capital.

==Sub-Saharan Africa 1940–1981==
{{further|Françafrique}}
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 French [[sub-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.<ref>Julian Jackson, ''De Gaulle'' (2018), pp 490–93, 525, 609–615.</ref>  All the colonies in 1958, except [[Guinea]], 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.<ref>Patrick Manning, ''Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa 1880–1995'' (1999) pp 137–41, 149–50, 158–62.</ref> 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, in sharp contrast to the situation in British colonies. 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 successors [[Georges Pompidou]] (1959–74) and  [[Valéry 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]], and [[Cameroon]] were the largest and most reliable African allies, and received most of the investments. <ref>John R. Frears, ''France in the Giscard Presidency'' (1981) pp 109–127.</ref> During the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), France supported breakaway [[Biafra]], 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.<ref> Christopher Griffin, "French military policy in the Nigerian Civil War, 1967–1970." ''Small Wars & Insurgencies'' 26.1 (2015): 114–135.</ref>
==Mitterrand: 1981–1996==

{{main|Foreign policy of the François Mitterrand administration}}
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 president [[François 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 of [[Apartheid]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-08 |title=François Mitterrand et l'Afrique: "Il a toujours eu une forme de paternalisme autoritaire" |url=https://information.tv5monde.com/info/francois-mitterrand-et-l-afrique-il-toujours-eu-une-forme-de-paternalisme-autoritaire-407873 |access-date=2022-05-12 |website=TV5MONDE |language=fr}}</ref>

===Gabon===
Mitterrand paid special attention to  [[Gabon]] because of its strategic location and important economy. Mitterrand generally supported the regime of Gabon's president [[Omar Bongo]], who had ruled since 1967. He mostly ignored the long-standing socialist and communist complaints about injustice and corruption in Gabon.<ref>David E. Gardinier, "France and Gabon since 1993: The reshaping of a neo-colonial relationship." ''Journal of Contemporary African Studies'' 18.2 (2000): 225–242.</ref>

===Rwanda===
{{main|Rwandan Genocide |Paul Barril}}
The French daily newspaper ''[[Le Monde]]'' printed newly declassified government memos and diplomatic telegrams revealing Mitterrand's support for [[Habyariamana]]'s regime on July 6, 2007. The official French policy was to push Habyarimana in sharing power, while stopping [[Paul Kagamé]]'s [[Rwandan Patriotic Front|FPR]]'s military advance, supported by [[Uganda]].<ref name=Monde>[http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3224,36-930272,0.html Génocide rwandais : ce que savait l'Elysée], ''[[Le Monde]]'', 2 July 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> On April 2, 1993, after an agreement between Habyarimana and Kagamé which prepared the August 1993 [[Arusha Accords (Rwanda)|Arusha Accords]], conservative Prime minister [[Edouard Balladur]] envisioned sending 1,000 more soldiers, a proposition accepted by Mitterrand.<ref name=Monde/> The documents prove that the French government was aware of ethnic cleansings committed by [[Hutu]] extremists as soon as February 1993, a year before the [[Assassination of Habyarimana and Ntaryamira|assassination of Habyarimana]] which triggered a full-scale genocide.<ref name=Monde/>

==See also==
* [[Françafrique]]
* [[France-Asia relations]]
* [[France-Americas relations]]

== Notes and references ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* Chafer, Tony, and Alexander Keese, eds. ''Francophone Africa at fifty'' (Oxford UP, 2015).
* Charbonneau, Bruno. ''France and the New Imperialism: Security Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa'' (Routledge 2016).
* Charbonneau, Bruno. "The imperial legacy of international peacebuilding: the case of Francophone Africa." ''Review of International Studies'' 40.3 (2014): 607–630. [http://www.academia.edu/download/38747801/RIS_2014_Charbonneau.pdf online]{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
* Crocker, Chester A. "Military dependence: the colonial legacy in Africa." ''Journal of Modern African Studies'' 12.2 (1974): 265–286.
* Erforth, Benedikt. (2020) "[[doi:10.1080/01402390.2020.1733986|Multilateralism as a tool: Exploring French military cooperation in the Sahel.]]" Journal of Strategic Studies
*Gardinier, David E. "France and Gabon since 1993: The reshaping of a neo-colonial relationship." ''Journal of Contemporary African Studies'' 18.2 (2000): 225–242.
* Gerits, Frank. "The postcolonial cultural transaction: rethinking the Guinea crisis within the French cultural strategy for Africa, 1958–60." ''Cold War History'' (2019): 1–17.  [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14682745.2019.1576170 online][https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14682745.2019.1576170 online]
* Marina E. Henke (2020) "[[doi:10.1080/01402390.2020.1733988|A tale of three French interventions: Intervention entrepreneurs and institutional intervention choices.]]" Journal of Strategic Studies.
*Johnson, G. Wesley. ed. ''Double Impact: France and Africa in the Age of Imperialism'' (1985)  [https://www.questia.com/library/3172739/double-impact-france-and-africa-in-the-age-of-imperialism online] essays by scholars
* Johnson, G. Wesley.  ''France and the Africans, 1944–1960: A Political History''. (Greenwood Press, 1985). {{ISBN|0313233861}}.
* McNamara, Francis Terry. ''France in Black Africa'' (Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press, 1989).
* Manning, Patrick. ''Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa 1880–1995'' (2nd ed. 1999)
* Martin, Guy. "The Historical, Economic, and Political Bases of France's African Policy." ''Journal of modern African studies'' 23.2 (1985): 189–208.
* Martin, Guy. "France's African policy in transition: disengagement and redeployment." ''Colección'' 10.5 (2017): 97–119. [http://erevistas.uca.edu.ar/index.php/COLEC/article/download/642/612 online]
* Mukonoweshuro, Eliphas G. "French Commercial Interests in Non-Francophone Africa." ''Africa Quarterly'' 30.1–2 (1990): 13–26.
*Stefano Recchia & Thierry Tardy (2020) [[doi:10.1080/01402390.2020.1733984|"French military operations in Africa: Reluctant multilateralism]]," Journal of Strategic Studies.
*Thierry Tardy (2020) "[[doi:10.1080/01402390.2020.1734571|France’s military operations in Africa: Between institutional pragmatism and agnosticism]]," Journal of Strategic Studies.
* Wood, Sarah L. "How Empires Make Peripheries: 'Overseas France' in Contemporary History." ''Contemporary European History'' (2019): 1–12. [https://www.academia.edu/download/59871105/how_empires_make_peripheries_overseas_france_in_contemporary_history20190626-117738-uca67y.pdf online]{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
* Yates, Douglas A. "France and Africa." in ''Africa and the World'' (Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2018) pp. 95–118. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Douglas_Yates2/publication/320674471_France_and_Africa/links/5a5f1cf6458515c03ee1c672/France-and-Africa online]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:France-Africa Relations}}
[[Category:Foreign relations of France]]
[[Category:Foreign relations of Africa|France]]