France

The Parti Socialiste victory in France's general elections of 25 May and 1 June gave heart to opposition parties in Francophone countries whose leaders are close to French politici...

It is turning out worse than they had feared in Paris. President Omar Bongo's government in Gabon has cut out his old ally, France's Elf Aquitaine, in favour of a deal with Energy ...

General Sani Abacha's 31 December announcement that by stepping up French teaching, Nigeria will in 'a very short time' become bilingual is a shrewd diplomatic move, however unreal...

Reports differ about how many people were killed when French soldiers launched a furious retaliatory attack on rebel positions in Bangui on 5 January but it raises more questions a...

President Mobutu Sese Seko was detained elsewhere but everybody in Ouagadougou wanted to know what was happening to his country. The Rwandan and Zaïrean delegations had hardly tou...

Paris is cutting its unwieldy, mainly conscript, 500,000-strong army, to form a smaller, well equipped regular force. Defence Minister Charles Millon visited Chad and Gabon on 5-8 ...

A French judicial investigation into alleged embezzlement by the former chairman of Elf-Aquitaine, Loïk le Floch Prigent (currently in custody for his own protection) is embarassi...

When he came to power 14 months ago, President Jacques Chirac promised a new French policy for Africa. This he failed to deliver during his visit to Gabon and Congo on 16-18 July. ...

Behind the Sudan government's dumping of Illich Ramírez Sánchez better known as Carlos Iies not only a web of deals with Paris, but also a storm of disagreement in the ruling elite...