La Françafrique est morte, vive la Françafrique

It was right in the spirit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's energetic ambivalence on Africa policy that he chose to announce Paris's new military plans for the region on a state visit to South Africa, the continent's economic powerhouse. Sarkozy was visiting the usual Francophone redoubts of Libreville and Ndjamena last month but he saved the big announcements for South Africa.

It was not the policy revolution that President Nicolas Sarkozy had been promising with his calls for a 'rupture' with France's past African policies. Faced with the complexities of Africa and France's key position in many countries, Sarkozy's radical...

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