France

President Jacques Chirac's four-country hurtle round West Africa (21-24 July) was a damp squib. He lacks the verve of his more cerebral predecessor François Mitterrand who ...

For many years, the oil company Elf Aquitaine provided the motive, and the excuse, for French policies in Africa. It was founded by President Charles de Gaulle during decolonisatio...

Africa’s franc zone has become a euro zone without much fuss. But as France passes Africa’s monetary baton to Europe’s new central bank, some African governments worry about the l...

The entente cordiale on Africa between London and Paris is warming up after Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and his French counterpart Hubert Védrine's double act in Accra and Abidja...

It is a reflection of how grave the region’s spiralling conflicts are that Britain and France are now working more closely on Africa policy than at any time since General Charles d...

The Paris-backed CFA Franc Zone is under pressure in Africa again as eleven European Union nations brace themselves for their new common currency, the euro (AC Vol 39 No 11). While...

French strategy is bouncing back after its low point in Central Africa last year. Other Western capitals now consider Paris’ reservations about Laurent-Desiré Kabila a...

France's Elf Aquitaine and Nigeria have joined forces against America's Mobil Oil and Equatorial Guinea in a latter-day variation of the Fashoda incident. Urged on by General Sani ...

In the final months of Pascal Lissouba's presidential term, which officially ended on 31 August, over 6,000 people have died in the war between his supporters and those of ex-dicta...

The triumph of the Parti Socialiste in Gaullist President Jacques Chirac's misjudged snap elections in May-June and the palpable failure of French strategy in Central Africa have p...