ABSTRACT
Francophone Africa is different - so many observers say. Unlike the former colonies of the other European powers, the former French dependencies have retained and in some cases enhanced their relationships with the ex-metropolitan power. There is an enduring legacy of colonialism expressed in the notion of a 'Francophone' community, which is seen in concrete terms in military links and a persistent dependent economic relationship. As Sandbrook has expressed it:
Many a strongman's regime owed thanks to France in the 1960s when it suppressed riots and uprisings. And under the direction of President Giscard d'Estaing there was a fresh spate of interventions in the late seventies. 1
This tradition of self-interested interventionism has continued in the 1980s, despite a socialist victory in the 1981 French election. President Francois Mitterand of France responded to a public injunction from US President Ronald Reagan that France should 'assume its historic responsibilties' by intervening in the conflict in Chad in 1983. 2 Many earlier examples of French intervention can be given. 3 The French military presence - seen in military agreements and the location of French troops in six African states - is complemented by enduring economic links.