France's watchful eye on Ivory Coast

By Henri Astier
BBC News website

Ever since independence in 1960, Ivory Coast has maintained strong ties with its former colonial power.

French investors, soldiers, and political advisers have traditionally played a key role in sub-Saharan Africa's third-largest economy - and the world's leading cocoa producer.

Government supporters think the French favoured the rebels

When Ivory Coast was ripped apart by its first coup in 1999, the French watched nervously as four decades of Paris-backed stability lay in ruins.

The latest crisis is also deeply worrying for France - which had some 20,000 nationals in Ivory Coast when it began two years ago.

France has some 4,000 troops there to protect them, as well as to monitor the ceasefire and maintain the buffer zone which is keeping the two warring sides apart.

Benign neglect

There was a time when the French were less reluctant to intervene heavily in what they viewed as their African back-yard.

Between the early 1960s and the 1990s, French troops were despatched more than 20 times to protect friendly regimes from both internal and external threats.

IVORY COAST INSTABILITY 1960 - independence 1990 - opposition parties legalised and Houphouet-Boigny wins multiparty elections Houphouet-Boigny dies and is replaced by Konan Bedie 1995 - opposition parties boycott election 1999 - military coups puts Robert Guei in power 2000 - Uprising follows October elections and Gbagbo becomes president 2001 - attempted coup put down 2002 - current rebellion starts in September 2003 - France mediates January peace agreement

But in the mid-1990s Paris governments became more cautious.

There were two reasons for this: France could no longer afford to support bankrupt economies single-handedly, and some of its African clients had become political embarrassments.

The turning point was probably the 1994 genocide by France's proteges in Rwanda.

From the mid-1990s, aid recipients - including Ivory Coast - were made to embrace IMF-inspired economic reforms.

France reduced its military presence across the continent.

Paris, in short, moved slowly towards a policy of benign neglect with respect to French-speaking Africa.

Anti-French feelings

But it retains stronger ties with Ivory Coast than with most other former colonies.

France has a military co-operation pact with Ivory Coast dating back to 1962, but the French reinforcement was not sent to the country based on that agreement - under which France can intervene only in the event of an attack from abroad.

Helene's killing symbolised growing anti-French feelings

But Paris refused to stand by as Ivory Coast descended into chaos and French nationals were threatened.

Although some 5,000 Frenchmen left in the wake of the rebellion, French investors still play a significant role in the economy of Ivory Coast - to the irritation of some Ivorians who see the French as arrogant, and as benefiting too much from the African country.

Supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo alleged that France - and this included French journalists - favoured the former New Forces rebels.

They charge that the Linas Marcoussis peace accords - brokered by France - also favoured the rebels.

In October 2003, French journalist Jean Helene-Irheam, who worked for Radio France Internationale, became a victim of this anti-French feeling, when he was shot dead at point-blank range in Abidjan.