MALI – SAHEL AND FRANCE

FLASHBACK: WHEN IT COMES TO ENERGY, THE SAHEL COULD BE TO FRANCE WHAT IRAQ WAS TO THE USA

INSTABILITY IN THE SAHEL COULD PROMPT INCREASED MIGRATION AND ILLICIT TRAFFICKING WHICH IS BOUND TO SPILL OVER INTO EUROPE.

Source: QZ

In the first days of the invasion of MALI, FRENCH president Francois Hollande promised that his country had “neither economic nor political interests” in MALI.

While that’s true, FRANCE has important strategic interests in promoting stability in the SAHEL, the strip of land between the SAHARA and the tropical SAVANNA underneath, covering parts of SENEGAL, MAURITANIA, ALGERIA, NIGER, CHAD, SUDAN, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC  and ERITREA–in addition to MALI.

Beyond FRANCE’S historical connection to the region (many of its former AFRICAN colonies were located there), FRANCE has a profound economic interest in the area, if not in MALI itself.

Background Information: 

EU INVOLVEMENT IN MALI

Why the SAHEL is crucial to EUROPE'S neighborhood – and its security strategy

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/07/eu-involvement-in-mali.html

URANIUM EXTRACTION IN MALI? 

FRANCE receives almost 80% of its energy from nuclear power, more than any other country in the world. The state-owned energy giant, Areva, which mines for uranium and builds and operates nuclear plants, gets a third of its uranium  from two mines in NIGER, where it is the second largest employer after the state. Later this year, Areva is expected to begin extracting uranium from a site called Imouraren, which is thought to contain the second largest uranium deposit in the world.

Al-Qaeda’s fate in MALI, where the group’s NORTH AFRICAN wing has taken a serious role in the ongoing conflict, is intertwined with its position in NIGER, as the two countries have become the group’s main strongholds in the SAHEL. As a precaution, FRANCE has even dispatched troops to NIGER to guard its mines there.

Background Information: 

POROUS BORDERS TURN LIBYA INTO RADICAL SANCTUARY Read entire article at: http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/10/libya-wild-west-of-northern-africa.html

SEVEN ECONOMIES IN SUB - SAHARAN AFRICA ARE EXPECTED TO BE AMONG THE TEN FASTEST GROWING ECONOMIES IN THE WORLD. Read entire article at:

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/04/africa-forgotten-and-underestimated.html

MALI itself has few valuable resources other than gold, which represents 70% of its exports. That may be changing now as Rockgate, a Canadian mining company, begins to explore a uranium deposit at Faléa, a mine in WESTERN MALI straddling the border of SENEGAL and GUINEA. Areva is already exploring a deposit in SENEGAL (in Saraya), and there have been talks of a partnership between Rockgate and Areva to explore the mine in western MALI.

FRANCE didn’t go into MALI to protect its energy resources, but it bears remembering that FRANCE counts on stability in the SAHEL in order to continue satisfying its enormous uranium needs. And the region’s importance to FRANCE, and EUROPE at large, extends even beyond its role as energy supplier. Any instability in the SAHEL could also prompt increased migration and illicit trafficking, some of which is bound to spill over into Europe.

Background Information: 

FRANCE AND THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

FRANCE reluctant to be left alone to deal with another AFRICAN hotspot – MALI, CHAD and now the CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/10/france-and-central-african-republic.html

MALI AND FRANCE

THE INTERESTS BEHIND FRANCE'S INTERVENTION IN MALI

Source: DW.DE

FRANCE has intervened in MALI in an effort to stop the advance of Islamist rebels - at the request of the government in Bamako and with the UN's blessing. But critics accuse Paris of pursuing a neo-colonialist agenda.

It's unclear how long FRANCE'S military campaign in MALI will last, since preventing radical Islamists from taking control of the country requires stabilizing the region for the long term. The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), a Göttingen-based NGO, has called on FRANCE to present a realistic plan for achieving its goals.

"After all, the Islamists will use their old strategy and pull back quickly in order to regroup with the protection of mountains and caves," explained STP spokesperson Ulrich Delius.

FRANCE TO ACT EARLY: IN ORDER TO PREVENT REBELS IN WESTERN AFRICA FROM BECOMING A DANGER TO EUROPE.

Officially, President Francois Hollande's government says that security interests explain its decision to intervene, and Paris insists it wants to act early to prevent the rebels in WESTERN AFRICA from becoming a danger to EUROPE.

"FRANCE fears that MALI could become a retreat and training center for Islamist terrorists if an Islamist state were established there," said Katrin Sold of the GERMAN Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).

Related Article:

CHAD AND ITS OIL RESERVES

Mounting border conflict with SUDAN may hinder economic development 

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/10/chad-and-its-oil-reserves.html

Furthermore, the former colonial power sees itself as at risk of becoming a target for terrorist attacks. Since 2010, radical Islamists have held four FRENCH employees of the Areva energy company captive in MALI. And the terror network al-Qaeda is now threatening further kidnappings and attacks in FRANCE and against the approximately 5,000 FRENCH citizens living in MALI.

OIL AND URANIUM - MORE AT STAKE THAN THE RISK OF TERRORIST ATTACKS.

"In the long term, FRANCE has interests in securing resources in the SAHEL - particularly oil and uranium, which the FRENCH energy company Areva has been extracting for decades in neighboring NIGER," said Sold.

But much time will pass before MALI'S resources can be extracted, so Sold believes security interests really are at the forefront in FRANCE'S current military intervention.

AFRICA expert Delius agrees, noting that when it came to military involvement in LIBYA, many countries had an interest there, especially in oil. With MALI, he said, it's different, and Paris seems to be following a concrete set of goals.

Background Information: 

LIBYA A FAILED STATE

Volatile SAHEL region

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/10/libya-failed-state.html

 

LIBYA THE WILD WEST OF NORTHERN AFRICA

Porous borders turn LIBYA into radical sanctuary

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/10/libya-wild-west-of-northern-africa.html

But sending troops to MALI represents a tightrope walk for FRANCE. The country may be out to defend its political and security interests, but there's a danger of seeming neo-colonialist. However, FRANCE is sticking to the demands of a UN mandate passed in December 2012.

"There is a defense agreement between FRANCE and MALI that was written for exactly such cases," stressed Alexander Stroh, a researcher at the GERMAN Institute of Global and Area Studies.

As such, FRANCE could be said to be simply fulfilling its obligations to MALI'S government by preventing the rebel groups from marching on the capital.

CONTRADICTORY POLICIES

FRENCH President Francois Hollande must keep an eye on promises made domestically, as well. During his election campaign in 2012, he promised to withdraw troops from AFGHANISTAN and bring soldiers home. Now he may suffer a loss of credibility by sending FRENCH armed forces to AFRICA.

The difficult budget situation at home presents further complications, especially for a prolonged engagement in MALI. In order to push through his economic consolidation agenda, there's little room for costly foreign policy maneuvers.

Background Information: 

DEMOCRATIC RECESSION: 9 OF THE 11 TOP CRUDE EXPORTERS ARE LABELED AS DICTATORSHIPS

There are currently 22 states in the world which earn over 60% of their respective GDP from oil (and gas), and are ruled by non-democratic, authoritarian regimes.

Read entire article at: http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/12/europe-and-arab-spring-that-never-sprung.html and

SEVEN ECONOMIES IN SUB - SAHARAN AFRICA ARE EXPECTED TO BE AMONG THE TEN FASTEST GROWING ECONOMIES IN THE WORLD. Read entire article at:

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/04/africa-forgotten-and-underestimated.html

FRANCE does not want to operate alone in MALI and has urged a multilateral intervention in which AFRICAN troops are sent to the front. The UN Security Council has already approved the military intervention, and the EU has promised to train MALIAN soldiers. Those are both important points for Paris because they signal shared responsibility within EUROPE and support from Brussels.