Viewing cable 08PARIS1698, FRANCE'S CHANGING AFRICA POLICY: PART III

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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 09 PARIS 001698 

SIPDIS 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2018 
TAGS: PREL PINR ECON MARR PHUM XA FR
SUBJECT: FRANCE'S CHANGING AFRICA POLICY: PART III 
(MILITARY PRESENCE AND OTHER STRUCTURAL CHANGES) 

REF: A. PARIS 1501 
¶B. PARIS 1568 
¶C. HOTR WASHINGTON DC//USDAO PARIS (SUBJ: IIR 6 832 
0617 08) 
¶D. HOTR WASHINGTON DC//USDAO PARIS (SUBJ: IIR 6 832 
0626 08) 

¶1. (C) SUMMARY: France's new Africa policy may have its 
most immediate impact on France's military presence in 
Africa. The French are planning to consolidate their 
military presence and want to orient it towards cooperation 
with Africa's sub-regional groupings (e.g., ECOWAS, SADC, et 
al.) and away from bilateral efforts. They foresee their 
military presence coalescing into two hubs, one on the 
Atlantic Ocean (Senegal or Gabon) and one on the Indian Ocean 
(Djibouti or French overseas department Reunion Island). 
Even these bases may eventually disappear if Africans prove 
capable of maintaining peace and security. Another priority 
will be the renegotiation of France's Defense Agreements with 
eight African countries, which now feature outdated 
provisions from the colonial era. The French announced in 
June 2008 the set of priorities that will henceforth frame 
French economic assistance to Africa. The Foreign Ministry 
is creating a fourth "sous-direction" (akin to a Department 
Office) that will more closely match Africa's sub-regional 
groups, and may also reconfigure French Embassies in Africa 
on a large, medium, and small basis to align priorities with 
budget constraints. END SUMMARY. 

¶2. (C) Part I of this series (ref A) described the 
"France-Afrique" model that governed France's relations with 
sub-Saharan Africa for most of the 20th century. Even before 
taking office in May 2007, President Nicolas Sarkozy believed 
that relations needed revision in response to globalization, 
changing circumstances, and the waning of the colonial and 
immediate post-colonial periods. He sought a more modern and 
transparent relationship, ostensibly of "equals," that would 
allow both sides to conduct relations on a business-like and 
rational basis. Part II (ref B) discussed France's first 
steps (and missteps) in implementing this policy and African 
reactions to it. This message (Part III) focuses on France's 
military presence in Africa and organizational changes likely 
to occur in conjunction with France's new policy. Post 
welcomes comments from colleagues at U.S. missions in Africa. 

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Conclusion 
---------- 
¶36. (C) In saying that he would "reform" France's Africa 
policy, Sarkozy has taken on a task of formidable 
proportions, which is no less than to break once and for all 
from the colonial and post-colonial world and its mindset and 
to bring relations into today's era. To do so, he must 
overcome inertia and a certain level of comfort on both sides 
that have accumulated over many years. Yet, as in other 
areas of French policy, he seems determined to move forward 
and has taken his first steps. In our view, this is a 
positive development, for France-Afrique was becoming an 
increasingly creaky, costly, and potentially dangerous 
vehicle for dealing with a continent rife with challenges, 
less amenable to heeding its former colonial masters, and 
inescapably engaged in global issues of all kinds, from 
terrorism, to the environment, to drug trafficking, to energy 
resource management, and well beyond. 

¶37. (C) But, will France-Afrique and old habits ever 
completely fade? One MOD contact, not known for 
sentimentality, believes that certain parts of France-Afrique 
will endure, if for no other reason than the common use of 
the French language and long intertwined histories. 
Prefacing his remarks by noting their lack of "political 
correctness" and their triteness, he says that the 
relationship was for a long time similar to a parent-child 
relationship. "Now, the child is an adult, capable of and 
deserving of more autonomy, yet still welcoming our help and 
guidance. What Sarkozy is doing is kicking the fledgling out 
of the nest, which is sort of the way he approaches a lot of 
problems. A heavy dose of what you might call 'tough love,' 
not always dispensed lovingly. Eventually, the now-grown 
adult child will be replaced by something resembling a cousin 
or a nephew. We will grow farther apart and less apt to look 
to each other reflexively, but some familial bond will 
remain, however much we may seek to deny it, and familial 
bonds are always to be nurtured. Our job is to make sure 
that this inevitable drifting apart takes place positively on 
both sides, does not completely extinguish the bond, and, 
most importantly, does not turn into an estrangement. That 
would be a loss for everyone -- French, Africans, and 
Americans." 

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