They were called colonial troops before being renamed naval forces at independence in 1960. Spearheading French penetration into Africa, these units continued the tradition until military juntas in Mali, Burkina and Niger, to make way for other countries, expelled them from one a place where they experienced everything: the triumphs, the humiliations, the feeling of making history, the frustration of leaving it behind for an uncertain future.
Impressive is the list of 90 French military interventions on the continent from 1960 to 2024. This “Opex” was the armed wing of the Franco-African alliance that was renamed Françafrique by its critics, but guaranteed some form of stability. The authors deal with the dark pages – the war in Cameroon, the hellish columns, the massacre of Thiaroye, the humiliation of Fashoda – and avoid nostalgia, but tell this great adventure with the respect it deserves.
“Requiem for the Colonial” by S. Smith and J. de La Guérivièreedition. Grass, 152 pp., €17, ebook, €11.99.