In January of 2013, 4000 French troops were sent in to help the government combat Islamic militants in Mali. After fighting their way from the north and east part of the country, the militants were starting to pose a threat to the capital, Bamako, located in the west of the country. In the rest of the country already held by Islamic militants, a harsh form of sharia law was already being implemented (Fessy, T 2013).
With the aid of French troops, Mali was able to repel the Islamic militants out or to the far north of the country. Because of this, the interim Malian president, Dioncounda Traore, hailed the French President as a "brother to the Malian people" and a "true friend of the whole of Africa" (Al Jazeera 2013). The French troops are currently on an ongoing operation to flush the remaining militants from the desert in the north. The north of Mali is all desert and Malian forces don't have the means to battle the militants effectively in such conditions (Fessy, T 2013).
On a recent raid on March seventh, French Paratroopers combined with Malian special forces managed to kill ten Islamic militants hiding by a weapons cache in the mountainous Adrar des Ifoghas region in northern Mali. The attack was one of the first successful missions carried out by US made Reaper unarmed surveillance drones bought by France for this purpose. The French army spokesman Gilles Jaron said that this raid "shows that there are a number of jihadist networks that are seeking to hide out and launch surprise attacks" (Nationalturk 2014).
France says that it believes that it is its duty to protect and aid its former colonies in Africa, Mali included. French President Francois Hollande said, "France will remain with you as long as it is necessary." Even though France has no more colonies, France still retains an interest in much needed natural resources located in Africa (Al Jazeera 2013).
After France gave its colonies independence, Jacques Foccart, an influential French businessman, created a network of French and African politicians, leaders and businessmen to maintain control in the former colonies. This network was known as Francafrique (Al Jazeera 2013).