ABSTRACT
One of the results of the independence treaties and co-operation agreements signed by France and its former colonies in Africa and Madagascar between 1958 and 1963 was that relations between the ex-colonial power and the new states evolved along basically bilateral lines. By means of such bilateral agreements, a very close-knit network of contractual ties was built up between France and each of these states, ranging over wide areas of public life and in places over areas of governmental activity as vastly different as the Post Office and defence. As regards foreign policy, the agreements signed in 1960 with the six member states of the ‘revived’ Community 1 stipulated that all parties to the agreements should hold regular consultations in order to ‘compare points of view and endeavour to align positions and activities before taking any major decision’. The agreements concluded with the Entente states 2 and with Cameroun, Mauritania and Togo, although worded in less exacting terms, were also intended to promote agreement and close co-operation in diplomatic affairs.
