From Wall Street Journal:
PARIS -- As French President Nicolas Sarkozy attends the funeral Tuesday of President Omar Bongo of Gabon, France is reopening a debate on whether it has turned the page on decades of close, often secretive relationships with the oil-rich central West African nation and other former African colonies.
Mr. Sarkozy pledged in his campaign and soon after he was elected in 2007 to do away with France's sub-rosa military and business operations in Africa. There is no clear sign, however, that he has moved in that direction.
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My Comment: It is hard to keep treaties in place with failed states .... and Africa is one failed state. So the ties are fraying .... I am not surprised.