| Summary: | Following decolonization, France sought to maintain close relations with its ancient African sub-Saharan colonies through economic, cultural and military cooperation agreements. Thanks to those agreements and to its military presence in Africa, France could impose itself as the “protector” of the new states in the frame of the Cold War. In order to implement this policy, France couldn’t rely on the support of its European partners. However, the criticism of French African policy, especially after the Rwanda genocide in 1994, forced French leaders to mobilize the tools of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) in order to legitimize French action in Africa. Although, this “Europeanization” of French African policy lead to the civil and military deployment of the European Union in the African continent, it was not enough to erase both French interests in Africa and its divergences with its European partners.
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