François Hollande was selected as
the new president of France on 6 May 2012. In particular, Mali crisis has been
a crucial test for the Socialist French president. French intervention in Mali
in January 2013 known "Operation Serval" demonstrated that France has
continued to pursue its economic and strategic interests in Africa. It also
showed that "continuity" has been one of the most significant foreign
policy principles in French policy towards Africa. Hollande made his first
official visit in Africa to Dakar, Senegal in October 2012. During his visit,
he stressed that democracy, human rights, and the principle of mutual respect
will play a critical role in developing relations between Africa and France.
According to the French president, geographical proximity, the human factor and
economic and energy relations have been the most important factors influencing
French policy in Africa (Melly and Darracq, 2013:12).
The French president Hollande's
predecessor, Nicholas Sarkozy, came to power in 2007 stressing that France
should change its relations with the Francophone Africa and decrease the number
of French military bases in Africa (ibid., pg.7). By contrast, French active
intervention in Libya and the Ivory Coast in 2011 proved that it is difficult
to change old relations of France with its former colonial countries. Even
though the fundemantal principles of the French policy in Africa has not
shifted with the new presidents of France, Hollande has implemented his traditional
African policy based on geo-economic interests of France.
Prior to the French intervention in
Mali, Hollande took steps carefully on the international scene and called the
international community to work together against the rebels in the country. He
underlined that the Malian crisis will not only threaten Africa's security but
also international security. In particular, France called African regional and
sub-regional organizations to make cooperation to combat the insurgents and to
support the regime in Mali. Furthermore, France has sought financial support
from the Gulf Arab states to cooperate during the Mali operation. It is
important to underline that France has used its global power in order to
strengthen its economic, political and strategic interests by cooperating with
international and regional organizations during the French Mali operation. On
20 December 2012, the UN authorized the deployment of the military operation of
the ECOWAS in Mali, so that the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) deployed its military mission to Mali known as "the African-led
International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA)."
France has sought to legalize its
military operation in Mali with the three critical steps. The first step is
that France intervened militarily in Mali upon the request of the Mali
government (Al Jazeera Center for Studies, 2013:3). The second step is that
France colloborated with international community during the Mali crisis. For
instance, the UN Security Council (UNSC) with its resolution plan of 2085
adopted on 20 December 2012 played a critical role in legalizing the French
military involvement in Mali. The last step is that France shared financial
responsibility with the international community including the Gulf African states.
The French intervention in Mali also has strategic consequences for the French
foreign policy towards Africa. The first is that Hollande increased its
popularity and strengthened leadership in Europe and in Africa.
The second result is that France has
kept its economic and strategic interests through the operation. Mali has
significant oil, gas, and mineral resources. For instance, it is the third
largest producer of gold in Africa (Evanno, 2013:1). Importantly, France is
still highly dependent on these for its technological industries. Furthermore,
Niger is a very rich country in uranium and very important country for the
French economic interests. It is the fifth largest producer of uranium in the
world. France makes 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power and gets
33 percent of its uranium from Niger (Francis, 2013:6). France has still been
using the rich resources of Africa for its economic and technological
developments (Moncrieff, 2012:360). In addition, France with the cooperation of
the EU and the Republic of Mali organized an international donors conference
named "Together for a New Mali" held in Brussels on 15 May 2013 in
order to reinforce the legalization of French military intervention in the
world. 108 countries attended the conference and "the Plan for the
Sustainable Recovery of Mali (PRED)" was adopted by the participants of
the conference. The donor countries have committed to donate €3.25 billion to
Mali.
The French Defense Ministry adopted
the "White Paper on National Security and Defence" on
29 April 2013. According to the white paper, France should retain its
military bases in the strategic countries of Africa to maintain its economic,
strategic, and global interests through Africa. In particular, the region of
Sahel, Equatorial Africa, the Horn of Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa have been
significant for the French economic and strategic interests (Melly and Darracq,
2013:12). It is likely that French foreign policy towards Africa under the
leadership of Hollande will go on focusing on developing French economic,
strategic and political interests in Africa. The French military intervention
in Mali shows that France will continue to get involved in strategic countries
in Africa militarily when French security and strategic interests are
threatened.
References:
Al Jazeera Center for Studies
(2013). French Intervention in Mali: Causes and Consequences. Doha: Al Jazeera Center for Studies, pg. 3.
Evanno, P. (2013). By Getting
out of the Western Contradictions: France May Win in Mali. African Perspective, No:1-1, pg.
1.
Francis,
D. J. (2013). The Regional Impact of the Armed Conflict
and French Intervention in Mali. Norway: Norwegian
Peacebuilding Resource Centre,
pg. 6.
Melly,
P. and Darracq, V. (2013). A New Way to Engage? French Policy in
Africafrom Sarkozy to Hollande. London: Chatham House, pg. 12.
Moncrieff,
R. (2012). French Africa Policy: Sarkozy's Legacy, and Prospects for a Hollande
Presidency. South African Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 19, No. 3, pg. 362.
