France's Waning Influence in Coup-Hit Africa Appears Clear While Few Remember Their Former Colonizer

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) When Gabons longtime leader was detained in the latest coup in Africa last week, France condemned the takeover but did little to intervene despite having hundreds of troops in the country. It was a striking break from the past.

African and French observers say that France, under pressure, is finally shedding its postcolonial tradition of Franafrique an unflattering term that smacks of paternalistic influence and quiet deal-making among elites as its economic and political powers wane and an increasingly self-confident Africa looks elsewhere.

After repeated military interventions in its former colonies in recent decades, the era of France as Africa's gendarme may finally be over.

In the old days of Franafrique, this coup would not have happened and, if it did, it would have been quickly reversed, Peter Pham, a former U.S. envoy for Africas Sahel region, said of Frances muted response to the coup in Gabon. Even more than ( the Niger coup in July ), French inaction underscores that the times have changed Gabon was long the centerpiece of the old cozy postcolonial system.