ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the specificities of francophone spaces as theatres of European Union (EU) peace operations. Studying the conditions of elaboration, decision, and implementation of these missions might also enable the chapter to contribute to the study of francophone spaces, of peace operations, and of the conditions of emergence of the EU as an actor in both fields. Studying EU peace operations in Francophone Africa provides insights into the study of both the specificities and normalities of francophone spaces as theatres of peace operations, into the study of the EU as a provider of peace operations, and into the study of France's evolving African policy. Our contribution confirms that the relative normalisation of France's African policy and interventions in Africa is not just rhetorical: increased multilateralism, the search for greater international legitimacy, and the enhancement of European coordination and ambitions in Africa are indeed visible.
