The Geopolitics of Franco-Malagasy Relations (19th-21st Centuries)

More than a century after colonisation, France remains deeply involved on the 'Red Island', but the French model of engagement appears to have undergone a radical transformation: it seems more multifaceted and less coordinated. Furthermore, the key players now largely come from the voluntary sector, although the French state remains an indispensable pillar of the system. Ultimately, it is French action in Madagascar as a whole that has undergone a development marked by breaks in certain areas and continuity in others. Above all, however, the official ambitions underpinning this action appear to be clearly at odds with one another. This deliberately iconoclastic comparison of French action in Madagascar between two periods characterised by vastly different international contexts, and between two modes of action that are, on the face of it, contradictory, nevertheless demonstrates that there is continuity in French action in Madagascar.