21st Century Françafrique in Côte d’Ivoire A Study on Modern French Neocolonialism

Abstract

After the fall of France’s second colonial empire in 1960, France retained many of the economic, political, and cultural benefits of colonialism. This French sphere of influence was known as Françafrique and lasted from 1960 through the 1990s. The word Françafrique was often evoked to call attention to France’s persistent colonial attitude, as well as the exploitative relationships that were set up to benefit elites. During the 1990s, Françafrique ostensibly declined due to several scandals and growing international criticism. The extent of Françafrique’s decline, and whether any decline was meaningful or simply ceremonial, is debated. In what ways is Françafrique still relevant as a label today? This research examines the extent to which Françafrique exists in the 21st century by using Côte d’Ivoire as a case study. 

First, three schools of thought are presented on Françafrique’s robustness today: the ideological school, the regime theory school, and the Afrocentric school. Then, Françafrique’s five concrete observable implications are analyzed during the Françafrique period and again in the 21st century. Those results are used to determine which hypothesis or hypotheses the implication supported. Then, overall trends and takeaways are evaluated, considering all implications and their changes over time.

The results do not support one sole hypothesis. The extent to which Françafrique exists in the 21st century is best understood through a combination of all three hypotheses, and possibly more. More recent attitudes of French officials, for example, might not fit any proposed hypothesis. While no one hypothesis emerged as an encompassing explanation of modern Françafrique, these results show that Françafrique is still robust and still an appropriate label to use when discussing Franco-Ivorian relations. While no implication studied here looks exactly the same in the 21st century as it did from 1960 to the 1990s, each demonstrated some continuation of Françafrique, whether concrete or ideological.