Wednesday, June 14th 1978.
Footage of President Giscard d'Estaing giving a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris during which he defended French policy in Africa.
Reuters Text:
President Giscard d'Estaing stressed the only motive behind the French action in Zaire had been to save lives. He said the government had ensured that the threat to the security of Shaba province had come from outside Zaire and that french nationals in the area were in danger. France's action had been defensive, limited to the immediate needs for the situation and designed to help the search for a political solution. The President announced the withdrawal of the last Foreign Legion troops stationed in Zaire and attacked critics who had described the involvement in shaba as a revival of "colonialism". He said France had only intervened in Africa at the request of the government concerned.
The President also discussed France's military aid to Mauritania, where French troops were used last year to counter an attack by Polisario rebels. He said that there were now only 100 French advisors in Mauritania and that his government had responded to a call for help from the Mauritania President, Ould Daddah.
The same situation had arisen in Chad last month, when Liberation Front (FROLINAT) rebels had threatened the capital of N'Djamena. The President stressed that in each case, the rebellions had received backing from foreign powers-the Polisario guerrillas are supported by Algeria, and the Libyan Jamahiriyah is backing the FROLINAT forces in Chad. The President did not comment on criticism of the involvement of the Soviet Union and Cuba in Africa, made during the recent summit meeting of North Atlantic Treary Organisation. On detente, he said it must be "world-wide" and that any "violation of frontiers is not compatible with the spirit of detente".
Source: Reuters News Archive.
NB.
Footage of Jacques Foccart (1913-1997), France's "Mr. Africa" and to many Africans, the sinister face of French neocolonialism.
Jacques Foccart French Minister for African Affairs Visiting Pres. Tombalbaye in Chad | March 1969 [ Ссылка ]
