Vol 38 No 24 | FRANCEAFRICA Franco-phoney war 5th December 1997 As Paris sides with Nigeria against a US oil conglomerate, its old allies feel uneasy France's Elf Aquitaine and Nigeria have joined forces against America's Mobil Oil and Equatorial Guinea in a latter-day variation of the Fashoda incident. Urged on by General Sani...
Vol 38 No 18 | CONGO-BRAZZAVILLEFRANCE 'I'll go home to die' 12th September 1997 In the final months of Pascal Lissouba's presidential term, which officially ended on 31 August, over 6,000 people have died in the war between his supporters and those...
Vol 38 No 15 | FRANCEAFRICA Après le déluge – quoi? 18th July 1997 Paris wants to recoup its losses – diplomatic and commercial – after a series of disasters The triumph of the Parti Socialiste in Gaullist President Jacques Chirac's misjudged snap elections in May-June and the palpable failure of French strategy in Central Africa have precipitated...
Vol 38 No 12 | FRANCEAFRICA Nouveaux venus 6th June 1997 The Parti Socialiste victory in France's general elections of 25 May and 1 June gave heart to opposition parties in Francophone countries whose leaders are close to French...
Vol 38 No 10 | GABONFRANCE Pas si joli 9th May 1997 It is turning out worse than they had feared in Paris. President Omar Bongo's government in Gabon has cut out his old ally, France's Elf Aquitaine, in favour...
Vol 38 No 2 | NIGERIAFRANCE Biligual diplomacy 17th January 1997 General Sani Abacha's 31 December announcement that by stepping up French teaching, Nigeria will in 'a very short time' become bilingual is a shrewd diplomatic move, however unrealistic...
Vol 38 No 2 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICFRANCE French Fire 17th January 1997 Reports differ about how many people were killed when French soldiers launched a furious retaliatory attack on rebel positions in Bangui on 5 January but it raises more...