{"id":813,"date":"2026-01-31T06:30:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T06:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/?p=813"},"modified":"2026-01-31T06:30:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T06:30:26","slug":"frances-geostrategic-interests-in-the-horn-of-africa-the-red-sea-djibouti-and-somalia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/31\/frances-geostrategic-interests-in-the-horn-of-africa-the-red-sea-djibouti-and-somalia\/","title":{"rendered":"France\u2019s Geostrategic Interests in the Horn of Africa: The Red Sea, Djibouti and Somalia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction: Historical Background<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Horn of Africa is a complex site of geopolitical and geostrategic importance, inextricably linked to key aspects of its history and geography. The uptick in engagement by external actors, and their attendant interests, alliances and agendas, underscore the pivotal role of geopolitics in shaping the security and economic trajectory of the region. The proximity of the Horn of Africa to the oil-rich countries of the Persian Gulf, and the vital commercial lanes that transit the Bab al-Mandab and the Gulf of Aden, reinforce the region as a crucial maritime chokepoint and port of call in an increasingly connected global order. 1)<\/span><\/p>\n

France had African colonies since the\u00a0 European Colonial powers Berlin Conference in\u00a0 1884, which they divided and took positions of Africa among themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0French<\/b>\u00a0presence in\u00a0Africa<\/b>\u00a0dates to the 17th century, but the main period of\u00a0colonial<\/b>\u00a0expansion came in the 19th century with the invasion of Ottoman Algiers in 1830, conquests in West and Equatorial\u00a0Africa<\/b>\u00a0during the so-called scramble for\u00a0Africa<\/b>\u00a0and the establishment of protectorates in Tunisia and Morocco and much of Equatorial and Central Africa.<\/p>\n

French colonialism\u00a0 always were interested in Egypt even before Napoleon\u2019s war Egypt in 1789. They also were interested in the countries along the red sea and the Bab el Mandep strait which allows the passage of\u00a0 goods safely through the narrow strait.<\/p>\n

And thus, Djibouti (The\u00a0French Territories of Afar & Isse<\/b>) came to play when France took possession of Djibouti (called\u00a0French Somali-land)\u00a0<\/i><\/b>in 1884. As the Territory of the\u00a0Afars and the Issas,\u00a0<\/i><\/b>it remained part of the French republic until independence in\u00a0\u00a01977<\/b>,<\/p>\n

France is interested in the following :<\/p>\n

\n

1) The Safety and continuity of\u00a0 passage of goods and peoples through Bab el Mandep straits and the Red Sea.<\/p>\n

2) French power projection in the Horn of Africa region and the littoral states of Red Sea i.e. Egypt, Saudia, and Yemen.<\/p>\n

3) The Protection and Preservation of Christian Ethiopia with in the Muslim HOA region.<\/p>\n

4) French economic, political and soft-power projections in the HOA and Red Sea litterol nations.<\/p>\n

5) French imperial occupation, exploitation under the coattails of\u00a0AFRICOM\/EU\/NATO\u00a0<\/i><\/b>empire of Africa and the littoral states of\u00a0Egypt, Eritrea, Saudia, Sudan, Yemen and Djibouti\u00a0<\/i><\/b>\u00a0which plays a major role as a Hub of\u00a0 western military bases, currently housing US\/French\/Italian\/Chinese\/ and Japanese military bases in such small country.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

French Neocolonialism in Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n

To protect and influence its interests in post-Independence Africa, France, opted to institutionalize its relationships with its former colonies by singing comprehensive bilateral economic, political, military and cultural accords that binds effectively french control, domination, and presence of the former colonies.<\/p>\n

Besides Djibouti, the French controls military bases in Reunion, Seychelles and Kerguelen Islands in the Indian Ocean which connects to the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea via Bab El Mandep straits which is strategically important for economic, military and Geo-strategic purposes.<\/p>\n

Thus, France uses and employs its political, economic, military and its United Nations Security Council (UNSC) membership. And\u00a0 as an ally of the US, through\u00a0NATO and AFRICOM<\/i><\/b>, it projects its powers in the region.<\/p>\n

Although the French Colonial Empire is long gone, Paris is still attempting to maintain its global influence through its former colonies, not only in the Red Sea and HOA region, but also in\u00a0 Central and Northern Africa, Another point to note is that the French energy company Total is one of the most important partners for Gas and Oil explorations, operations, sells and marketing\u00a0 in Ethiopia and Kenya \u2013 1950 and 1955\u00a0 respectively.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/strong>French Oil conglomerate<\/strong>\u00a0Total<\/i><\/b>\u00a0holds a 45% interest in three offshore exploration licenses in the\u00a0Lamu Basin\u00a0<\/i><\/b>(Near the disputed Somali Maritime border) namely L11a, L11B and L12. 3)<\/p>\n

Conclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Historically it is evident, that the French seeks to use its former\u00a0 African colonies in the indian ocean Basin and The Red Sea littoral countries for its Geostrategic interests in the region and its competition with Turkey, China and Russia.<\/p>\n

There is a Turkish-French Competition in Africa since 2000. Turkey and France are acting as rivals in\u00a0 Africa by creating cooperation with the East, HOA and West African countries. France has joined\u00a0 strategic marriage of convenience\u00a0 with Anti-Turkish Arab countries of Egypt, Saudi, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates may work against Turkey to create their influential zone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc.<\/p>\n

This article was already published on\u00a0Academia.edu<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Prof. Dr. Bischara Ali EGAL<\/strong>\u00a0is\u00a0<\/span>Executive Director and Chief Researcher at\u00a0<\/span>The Horn of Africa Center for Strategic and International studies (Horncsis.org)\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/horncsis.org<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Mogadishu, SOMALIA\u00a0(HOA)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Notes<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

1<\/span>)\u00a0 Faith Mabera (2020)\u00a0<\/span>The Horn of Africa-Persian Gulf nexus: inter-regional dynamics and the reshaping of regional order in geopolitical flux. INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL DIALOGUE Issue 136 \/April 2020<\/p>\n

2)<\/span>\u00a0Melvin, Neil \u201c The new external security politics of the horn of africa region\u201d No#2\/2019, April, 2019\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/resrep24470?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents<\/a>(accessed<\/a>\u00a0January12, 2021)<\/span><\/p>\n

3) Total in Kenya (2020),\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/www.total.com\/kenya<\/a>\u00a0(Accessed feb.13th, 2021)<\/span><\/p>\n

4)\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/www.academia.edu\/43038240<\/a>\u00a0Avoid_the_French_Trap_in_Reforming_the_UN_2004?email_work_card=reading-history<\/span><\/p>\n

5)\u00a0 Why US, UK, France,\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/qz.com\/africa\/1743984\/us-uk-france-norway-pick-sides-in-kenya-somalia-maritime-row\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>(accessed<\/a>\u00a0feberuary15, 2021)<\/span><\/p>\n

6)\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-flawed-logic-behind-french-military-interventions-in-africa-132528 (accessed<\/a>\u00a0 january 12, 2021)<\/span><\/p>\n

7)\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/www.usip.org\/programs\/red-sea-rising-peace-and-security-horn-africa-and-middle-<\/a>east(accessed<\/a>\u00a0feb.6th, 2021)<\/span><\/p>\n

8) Tekle, Amare (1989). Peace and Stability in the Horn of Africa: in Northeast African Studies ; Vol.11, No.1;(1989) pp-75 108\u00a0https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/43660263?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents<\/a>\u00a0(Accessed Feb.2, 2021)<\/span><\/p>\n

9)\u00a0https:\/\/www.theafricareport.com\/50499\/the-horn-of-africa-and-the-gulf-shifting-<\/a>power-plays-in-the-red-sea\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

10)\u00a0 Total operations in Ethiopia (2021);\u00a0https:\/\/www.totalethiopia.com\/business\/total-mining-solutions (Accessed feberuary<\/a>\u00a014th<\/sup>, 2021)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction: Historical Background The Horn of Africa is a complex site of geopolitical and geostrategic importance, inextricably linked to key […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":815,"href":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813\/revisions\/815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/profbisharegal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}