This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7268814.stm

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
France to change African links France 'to change African links'
(about 3 hours later)
France will renegotiate its defence deals with African countries, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said.France will renegotiate its defence deals with African countries, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said.
It has military accords with several of its former colonies and recently helped the Chad government repulse rebels. The country has military accords with several of its ex-colonies and recently helped Chad repulse a rebel attack.
The changes would mark a "major turning point", he said, with further details to be announced in a speech to the South African parliament. "They must reflect Africa as it is today and not as it was yesterday," Mr Sarkozy told South Africa's parliament in Cape Town during a state visit.
Mr Sarkozy has said that the previously cosy relationships between France and some African leaders should end. It was also agreed a French firm would build a $2bn coal power plant in South Africa, which is facing a power crisis.
In a wide-ranging speech, Mr Sarkozy also touched on migration - comparing the situation in Europe with South Africa which also has an influx of African migrants.
He said quotas had to be considered and that a new partnership was needed to end the brain drain from Africa, which was harming the continent.
He said, for example, that there were more Beninois doctors in France than in Benin itself.
The French president also said Africa should have at least one permanent seat on the UN Security Council and that France would no longer accept major world affairs being discussed without a leading African country being involved.
Military interventionMilitary intervention
Mr Sarkozy said Europe and Africa needed to forge new ties based on equality and respect.
FRENCH MILITARY PRESENCE Largest military base: Djibouti Other main bases: Dakar (Senegal); Libreville (Gabon)1,200 troops in Chad, including in the capital, N'Djamena, to protect French nationals300 troops in Bangui (CAR) Approx 3,000 troops in Ivory Coast under a UN mandate Source: Council on Foreign Relations
France's defence changes would mark a "major turning point", he said, although he was not proposing to scrap all existing agreements, but he wanted to adapt them to the realities of the present.
That included transparency, with all defence agreements to be made public in their entirety.
France has what it terms "defence agreements", providing for direct military intervention, with Central African Republic, Gabon, Senegal and Ivory Coast.France has what it terms "defence agreements", providing for direct military intervention, with Central African Republic, Gabon, Senegal and Ivory Coast.
It also has several military bases on the continent with thousands of troops stationed in Djibouti, Senegal and Gabon.It also has several military bases on the continent with thousands of troops stationed in Djibouti, Senegal and Gabon.
FRENCH MILITARY PRESENCE Largest military base: Djibouti Other main bases: Dakar (Senegal); Libreville (Gabon)1,200 troops in Chad, including in the capital, N'Djamena, to protect French nationals300 troops in Bangui (CAR) Approx 3,000 troops in Ivory Coast under a UN mandate Source: Council on Foreign Relations "We are now in the 21st century as opposed to the 20th," said Mr Sarkozy, outlining the change in French policy. He said France had no reason to maintain armed forces on the continent indefinitely and that Africa had to take responsibility for its own security issues.
He said the changes had been made through "quiet diplomacy" and all France's partners in Africa had been informed. The full details of the new defence agreements would be published, he added. President Sarkozy said that in no way was France pulling out or disengaging, but he wanted his country to work to a greater extent alongside the African Union.
The French president was quoted earlier in the Johannesburg Star newspaper as saying that France no longer needed to play a policing role on the continent.
Correspondents say Paris has been accused in the past of supporting dubious dictators in Africa while ignoring corruption.Correspondents say Paris has been accused in the past of supporting dubious dictators in Africa while ignoring corruption.
Mr Sarkozy arrived in South Africa after a brief stay in Chad, where French forces helped evacuate foreigners as rebels entered the capital last month. France provided logistical help to the government in N'Djamena. Rapport
His talks with South African leaders were expected to centre on trade. He is accompanied by 40 French business executives. Mr Sarkozy arrived in South Africa after a brief stay in Chad, where French forces helped evacuate foreigners as rebels entered the capital last month.
The French company Areva is hoping to build the country's second nuclear reactor. France provided logistical help to the government in N'Djamena.
The South African foreign ministry said the talks would also cover more French investment in transport and vehicle manufacture. The BBC's Mohammed Allie in Cape Town says Mr Sarkozy and his South Africa counterpart Thabo Mbeki had a good rapport.
Tensions in Chad and the Darfur crisis were also expected to be on the agenda. Mr Mbeki thanked Mr Sarkozy for the speed with which he agreed to send French engineers to advise South Africa about its power supply crisis.
"The president immediately agreed that within a few days all of those engineers will be here," Mr Mbeki said.
The two leaders were present at the signing ceremony for Alstom to build the coal-fuelled power plant.
Mr Sarkozy's visit is going to centre on other trade issues on Friday and he is accompanied by 40 French business executives on his visit.