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Since the independences, Africa’s French-speaking part is France’s sphere of influence – in which is conducted a policy, guided by principles established in the 1960’s and never modified since then. What have been, during two presidential mandates, the orientations and principles of France’s African policy? A policy that remained the exclusive domain of the President, but has been influenced by a couple of advisors in charge of African affairs. A policy that remained faithful to the principles defined by the General de Gaulle. And eventually, a policy that changed somehow with the local and international upheavals of the last decade.Gérard Claude, Professor and PhD in Contemporary History, studies the migratory and geopolitical issues in Mediterranean. He teaches at the Institut d’études politiques of Aix-en-Provence and has recently published Géopolitique et relations internationales en Méditerranée (Paris, Ellipses, 2007).