"Il y a la France; il y a l'Afrique. Le temps de la Françafrique est... réincarné"? Exploring the drivers and character of French Security Policy in

Despite promising to reduce France's involvement in Africa after decades of 'Françafrique', the
presidency of François Hollande has seen one of the most activist periods of French engagement in
Africa in recent history - especially in response to violent jihadist Salafist groups both at home and in
West Africa (WA). In addition to renewed activism, the character of France's actions has shifted from
direct engagement with regional organisations to novel bilateral security interventions. My proposed
thesis will examine the contradiction between Hollande's initial objectives and this period of French
intervention with a view to understanding the drivers of and the shape taken by French security policy
in WA. It will explore how, in a period of 'power diffusion' to non-state actors and global
interconnectedness, local and global threats are increasingly blurred and intertwined, driving France -
as a global player - back into West African security to support local allies. Focusing on the strategically
significant WA region this thesis will 1) examine the domestic and foreign policy considerations that
motivated French involvement; 2) explore the new and innovative character of recent French
interventions in the region; 3) assess how these interventions have been legitimised and 4) contribute
to conceptual and theoretical debates on contemporary security and intervention.