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 France |  Senegal |
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France and Senegal are both full members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and the United Nations.
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France | Senegal |
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France and Senegal are both full members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and the United Nations.
Relations between France and Senegal stretch back as early as the 14th century, when French merchants travelled to and traded among the present-day Senegalese coast. [1] France exported cloth, iron and muskets to Senegal and imported textiles, ivory, spices and slaves. [1] In 1659, France established a trading post in present-day Saint-Louis operated by the French West India Company (later known as the Compagnie du Sénégal). [2] As a result of the Seven Years' War (1754-1763) between France and the Kingdom of Great Britain, France lost its possession of Saint-Louis. Saint-Louis was returned to France in 1783 as a result of the French victory during the American Revolutionary War.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Great Britain captured French possessions in Senegal and in 1807 Britain proclaimed the abolition of the slave trade known as the "Slave Trade Act 1807". In 1816, Britain returned to France its possessions in Senegal. [3] During the "Scramble for Africa" France began to insert control of the Senegal river and hinterland of the country. By 1895, Senegal became part of the French West Africa colony with the capital in Saint-Louis before being relocated to Dakar in 1902.
During World War I and World War II, Senegalese soldiers known as Senegalese Tirailleurs fought in both wars for France and they fought during the Battle of France and in the Italian Campaign under the Free France government in exile led by General Charles de Gaulle. After the Liberation of Paris and the end of World War II, Senegal became part of the French Union in 1946. [3]
In April 1959, Senegal and Mali merged into the Mali Federation and declared independence from France in June 1960. Senegal became an independent nation in April 1960.
France and Senegal established diplomatic relations in August 1960. [3] Both France and Senegal work closely together in West African regional affairs, and maintain a close cultural and political relationship. [4] In 2010, France closed its military base in Senegal, however, France maintains an air force base within the Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar. [5] In November 2024, the President of the Republic of Senegal Bassirou Diomaye Faye called for the departure of French soldiers from Senegal. [6] The status of the end of the presence of French forces in Senegal is planned for September 2025 [7] .
In 2016, trade between France and Senegal totaled €834 million Euros. [8] Senegal is France's 57th largest trading partner globally and third largest from Africa. [8] France is the largest foreign investor in Senegal with over €1.7 billion Euros worth of investments within the country. [8] Several French multinational companies such as BNP Paribas, Eramet, Orange S.A., Necotrans and Société Générale operate in Senegal.
The history of Senegal is commonly divided into a number of periods, encompassing the prehistoric era, the precolonial period, colonialism, and the contemporary era.
Senegal's first President, Léopold Senghor, advocated close relations with France and negotiation and compromise as the best means of resolving international differences after Senegal's independence from its status as a French colony. To a large extent, the two succeeding presidents, Abdou Diouf and Abdoulaye Wade, have carried on Senghor's policies and philosophies. Senegal has long supported functional integration among French-speaking West African states through the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Dahomey and Niger. The federation existed from 1895 until 1958. Its capital was Saint-Louis in Senegal until 1902, and then Dakar until the federation's collapse in 1960.
Saint-Louis or Saint Louis, is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 kilometres (200 mi) north of Senegal's capital city Dakar. It had a population of 254,171 in 2023. Saint-Louis was the capital of the French colony of Senegal from 1673 until 1902 and French West Africa from 1895 until 1902, when the capital was moved to Dakar. From 1920 to 1957, it also served as the capital of the neighboring colony of Mauritania.
Cheikh Tidiane Gadio is a Pan African political figure and diplomat who has held prominent positions on the African continent over the last two decades. He served as a special envoy on matters of conflict prevention and resolution in Africa, including Special Envoy of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) to Mali, Special Envoy for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for the Central African Republique, and Special Representative for Africa for the Secretary General of OIC.
Île de Gorée is one of the 19 communes d'arrondissement of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an 18.2-hectare (45-acre) island located two kilometres at sea from the main harbour of Dakar, famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade.
Thiès is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies 72 km (45 mi) east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St-Louis. It is the capital of Thiès Region and is a major industrial city.
The Soninke (Sarakolleh) people are a West African Mande-speaking ethnic group found in Mali, southern Mauritania, eastern Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea. They speak the Soninke language, also called the Serakhulle or Azer language, which is one of the Mande languages. Soninke people were the founders of the ancient empire of Ghana or Wagadou c. 200–1240 CE, Subgroups of Soninke include the Jakhanke, Maraka and Wangara. When the Ghana empire was destroyed, the resulting diaspora brought Soninkes to Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinée-Conakry, modern-day Republic of Ghana, Kano in Nigeria, and Guinea-Bissau where some of this trading diaspora was called Wangara, leading to the saying “when Americans landed on the moon, a Soninke was already there” in Senegal, with other versions across West Africa.
École William Ponty was a government teachers' college in French West Africa, in what is now Senegal. The school is now in Kolda, Senegal, where it is currently known as École de formation d’instituteurs William Ponty. It is associated with the French university IUFM at Livry-Gargan (France).
Trade unionism is a powerful force in the politics, economy, and culture of Senegal, and was one of the earliest trades union movements to form in Francophone West Africa.
The French conquest of Senegal started in 1659 with the establishment of Saint-Louis, Senegal, followed by the French capture of the island of Gorée from the Dutch in 1677, but would only become a full-scale campaign in the 19th century.
There is a significant community of Lebanese people in Senegal. Lebanese migration to Senegal began in the late 19th century, largely motivated by economic prospects in trade and commerce. While retaining cultural ties to Lebanon and largely practicing endogamy, they've assimilated into Senegalese society, predominantly engaged in commerce. Official statistics on the Lebanese population in Senegal are absent, with estimates ranging from 15,000 to 30,000 as of 2006.
The nations of Mexico and Senegal established diplomatic relations in 1962. Both nations are members of the Group of 15 and the United Nations.
Mali–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Mali and Turkey. Turkey has an embassy in Mali since February 1, 2010 and Mali opened an embassy in Ankara on June 27, 2014.
Senegalese nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Senegal, as amended; the Nationality Law, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Senegal. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual with the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual within the nation. Senegalese nationality is typically obtained under the principal of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in Senegal or abroad to parents with Senegalese nationality. It can be granted, through naturalization, to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time.
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