8 - Les dessous de l’opération Licorne en Côte d’Ivoire : pour une lecture géopolitique nouvelle des interventions françaises en Afrique

This work is on the French military intervention in Cote d’Ivoire. It sets itself a double challenge which is both theoretical and practical: first, it analyzes the motives of the military commitment of a foreign power in a domestic conflict, develops an analytical model from the new geopolitics, then assesses it in the light of the military intervention of France in Cote d’Ivoire. The French intervention was the subject of much speculationmost of which were narratives and sometimes pamphleteering. The originality of this paper lies in the capacity of its author to systematize the motives of France, building on the dynamics from the outside through a multivariate and multi-scalar analysis. Focusing on specific geopolitical determinants, the author highlights the ideological considerations often concealed in writings on the issue. Taking the opposite view of researchers who tend to marginalize the role of Africa in economic globalization, the author demonstrates the strategic importance of the African and Ivorian space, in particular for major powers, which justifies more the Operation Licorne. The author concludes that the operation is crucial for France, as well as Cote d’Ivoire and countries within the CFA Franc area.