France and her colonies

The days of the French flag flying over foreign capitals and colored maps may be gone, but the old colonial empires linger on in a strange way. France launched a counter terrorism operation in Niger, a former colony, to rescue seven hostages from a group that calls itself Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. While this is far from the military levels seen during France's wars of decolonization or the current American operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is none-the-less significant as it shows the continued policy of French military intervention in its former African colonies. Since 1960, there have been 46 French military operations in its former African colonies, and the former empire continues to maintain bases across its former colonies. How this recently sparked conflict will play out against Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb remains to be seen.

On the recent events in Niger.