1960: The Year of Africa and Françafrique

In 1960 seventeen African countries became independent, fourteen of them former French colonies or trust territories, including Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Madagascar, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad. The French Community, created only in 1958, quickly gave way as leaders demanded full sovereignty. Yet France kept unusually close ties. It signed cooperation and defense agreements, kept military bases, and maintained the CFA franc, a currency created in 1945 that was linked to the French franc and backed by the French treasury.

Jacques Foccart, de Gaulle's adviser on African affairs, managed a network of personal links with African leaders. France intervened militarily several times, for example restoring Gabon's president after a coup attempt in 1964. Critics call this system 'Françafrique' and see it as neocolonialism that propped up friendly regimes; defenders argue it provided stability, a strong currency and security. In Cameroon, independence came amid a rebellion by the UPC that French and Cameroonian forces fought into the 1960s.