It might be argued that France, alone of all ex-colonialists, has actively retained strong political, economic and social ties with Africa. Certainly, the word la Françafrique has no equivalent with regard to Britain or Portugal's connections with the continent.

Only France has maintained the military presence in Africa.
●Senegal, Gabon, Djibouti(permanent bases)
●Cote d’Ivoire, Chad, CAR, Mali (La Reunion and Mayotte)(operation bases)

Initially, la Françafrique was a positive expression, crafted by President Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Côte d'Ivoire, denoting France's historically close ties with Africa.
However, the term in contemporary usage has primarily negative and neocolonial connotations, being reused by the noted French critic of Paris' relations with African autocrats, Francois-Xavier Verschave, in his book, La Françafrique, le plus long scandale de la Republique which the author does not appreciate at all.

• France’s African policies have become more pragmatic, reflecting the country’s diminished means for grandeur.

• Two main vestiges of the past are the shadowy networks for business and political deals and an outmoded Francophonie cultural policy
• France has strategically tried to downscale military commitment and bilateral defence agreements to francophone Africa, but France is actually making the huge military intervention in Mali and in CAR. Even recently Holland announced the set up of a new counter-terrorism operation, codenamed “Barkhane”, which will aim to tackle the jihadist threat across the Sahel, the region comprising the southern fringe of the Sahara desert.