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 France |  Gabon |
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Franco-Gabonese relations are the current and historical relations between France and Gabon. Both nations are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the United Nations.
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France first came into contact with people from Gabon when France signed protection treaties with local chiefs in 1839 and 1841. France officially claimed Gabon as a territory in 1885 as part of the scramble for Africa. Administration by France began in 1903 and in 1910, Gabon became part of the newly formed federation of French Equatorial Africa. Gabon lasted as part of the colonial federation until 1959. During World War II, Gabon was held by Vichy French forces from June to November 1940, but following the Battle of Gabon the colony was controlled by Free French forces. In August 1960, Gabon attained independence from France along with the other territories of the former French Equatorial Africa.
Since independence, Gabon has been "one of France's closest allies in Africa". [1] During the 1960s Gabon was France's sole source of Uranium and the French government therefore saw its relationship with Gabon as critical to its Force de frappe (nuclear deterrent). [2] In the early 1960s, the French government also established a policy goal of "energy independence" however with the loss of its control over French Algeria it came to rely heavily on Gabon for its oil needs. [3] In February 1964 French troops helped to overthrow the Gabonese regime during the 1964 Gabon coup d'état and French citizens spread rumors of American involvement in the coup which led to the 1964 United States Embassy in Libreville bombings.
Omar Bongo ruled Gabon from 1967 until he died in 2009 and allowed extensive French military, political and economic involvement between Gabon and its former colonial master. Elf, the French national oil company, had extensive business dealings with Bongo's regime and Gabon was used as a military staging point for French-sponsored military actions throughout Africa. [4]
As of 2008, around 10,000 French nationals live and work in Gabon, while the 6th Marine Infantry Battalion of the French military is also stationed there. When Gabonese president Omar Bongo died on June 7. 2009, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac were the only Western heads of state to attend his funeral.[ citation needed ]
Omar Bongo's son, Ali Bongo Ondimba, took power following his father's death. Ali Bongo held on to power after the 2016 election despite widespread claims of voter fraud, including by French foreign ministry officials.[ citation needed ]
Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo on the east and south, and the Gulf of Guinea to the west. It has an area of 270,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi) and a population of 2.3 million people. There are coastal plains, mountains, and a savanna in the east. Libreville is the country's capital and largest city.
Little is known of the history of Gabon before European contact. Bantu migrants settled the area beginning in the 14th century. Portuguese explorers and traders arrived in the area in the late 15th century. The coast subsequently became a centre of the transatlantic slave trade with European slave traders arriving to the region in the 16th century. In 1839 and 1841, France established a protectorate over the coast. In 1849, captives released from a captured slave ship founded Libreville. In 1862–1887, France expanded its control including the interior of the state, and took full sovereignty. In 1910 Gabon became part of French Equatorial Africa and in 1960, Gabon became independent.
The Armed Forces of Gabon, officially the Gabonese Defense and Security Forces, is the national professional military of Gabon, divided into the Army, Air Force, Navy, and a National Gendarmerie, consisting of about 5,000 personnel. The armed forces includes a well-trained, well-equipped 1,800-member guard that provides security for the President of Gabon.
Omar Bongo Ondimba was a Gabonese politician who was the second president of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009. Bongo was promoted to key positions as a young official under Gabon's first President Léon M'ba in the 1960s, before being elected the second vice-president in his own right in 1966. In 1967, he succeeded M'ba to become the country's president, upon the latter's death.
Gabriel Léon M'ba was a Gabonese politician who served as both the first Prime Minister (1959–1961) and President (1961–1967) of Gabon.
Jean-Hilaire Aubame was a Gabonese politician active during both the colonial and independence periods. The French journalist Pierre Péan said that Aubame's training "as a practicing Catholic and a customs official helped to make him an integrated man, one of whom political power was not an end in itself."
Ali Bongo Ondimba, also known as Ali Bongo and Ali Ben Bongo, is a Gabonese former politician who was the third president of Gabon from 2009 to 2023. He is a member of the Gabonese Democratic Party. He is the son of Omar Bongo, who was president of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009. During his father's presidency, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1991, represented Bongoville as a deputy in the National Assembly from 1991 to 1999, and was the Minister of Defense from 1999 to 2009. After his father's death, he won the 2009 Gabonese presidential election. He was reelected in 2016, in elections marred by numerous irregularities, arrests, human rights violations, and post-election protests and violence.
Léon Mébiame was a Gabonese politician who was the 2nd Prime Minister of Gabon. From 1975 to 1990, he served as the longest-serving Prime Minister in Gabonese history, at 15 years and 17 days.
Gabon is a Christian majority nation, with around ten percent of the population being Muslim according to 2020 figures. Almost all of them follow Sunni Islam. Due to the secular nature of the country's constitution, Muslims are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country.
Gabon – United States relations are bilateral relations between Gabon and the United States.
The 1964 Gabonese coup d'état was staged between 17 and 18 February 1964 by Gabonese military officers who rose against Gabonese President Léon M'ba. Before the coup, Gabon was seen as one of the most politically stable countries in Africa. The coup resulted from M'ba's dissolution of the Gabonese legislature on 21 January 1964, and during a takeover with few casualties 150 coup plotters arrested M'ba and a number of his government officials. Through Radio Libreville, they asked the people of Gabon to remain calm and assured them that the country's pro-France foreign policy would remain unchanged. A provisional government was formed, and the coup's leaders installed Deputy Jean-Hilaire Aubame, who was M'ba's primary political opponent and had been uninvolved in the coup, as president. Meanwhile, M'ba was sent to Lambaréné, 250 kilometres (155 mi) from Libreville. There was no major uprising or reaction by the Gabonese people when they received word of the coup, which the military interpreted as a sign of approval.
Paul Marie Indjendjet Gondjout was a Gabonese politician and civil servant, and the father of Laure Gondjout, another prominent Gabonese politician. Gondjout was a member of the Mpongwe ethnic group, and served in the French colonial administration from 1928, and founded the Cercle amical et mutualiste des évolués de Port-Gentil in 1943. He was a delegate to the French Senate from 1949 to 1958, and founded the Gabonese Democratic Bloc (BDG). In 1954, Léon M'ba joined the party and eventually overthrew Gondjout as leader.
Louis-Emile Bigmann (1897–1986) was a Gabonese politician and former President of the National Assembly of Gabon.
The second President of Gabon, Omar Bongo, died in Spain on 8 June 2009, after having suffered from colorectal cancer. A month of mourning and state funeral, spanning 11 to 18 June, followed.
The African nation of Gabon has had human inhabitants for perhaps 400,000 years. Bantu peoples settled here from the 11th century. The coastline first became known to Europeans through Portuguese and Dutch sailors. Colonised by the French in the 19th century, Gabon became independent in 1960.
The National Gendarmerie of Gabon is the national police force of Gabon responsible for law enforcement in Gabon. It is under the direct command of the President of Gabon. The Gendarmerie is also in charge of the Gabonese Republican Guard.
Gabon–Spain relations are the bilateral and diplomatic relations between these two countries. Gabon has an embassy in Madrid and consulates in Barcelona and Bilbao. Spain has an embassy in Libreville.
General elections were held in Gabon on 26 August 2023. Incumbent president Ali Bongo ran for re-election, representing the Gabonese Democratic Party, which had ruled the country continuously since its independence from France in 1960, including 41 years under Bongo's father, Omar.
On 30 August 2023, a coup d'état occurred in Gabon shortly after the announcement that incumbent president Ali Bongo had won the general election held on 26 August. It was the eighth successful coup to occur in West and Central Africa since 2020.
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