France in Rhodesia: French policy and perceptions throughout the era of decolonisation Joanna Warson This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Portsmouth 2013 i Abstract This thesis analyses French policies towards and perceptions of the British colony of Rhodesia, from the immediate aftermath of the Second World War up until the territory’s independence as Zimbabwe in 1980. Its main objective is to challenge notions of exceptionality associated with Franco- African relations, by investigating French engagement with a region outside of its traditional sphere of African influence. The first two chapters explore the development of Franco-Rhodesian relations in the eighteen years following the establishment of a French Consulate in Salisbury in 1947. Chapter One examines the foreign policy mind-set that underpinned French engagement with Rhodesia at this time, whilst Chapter Two addresses how this mind-set operated in practice. The remaining three chapters explore the evolution of France’s presence in this British colony in the fourteen and a half years following the white settlers’ Unilateral Declaration of Independence. Chapter Three sets out the particularities of the post-1965 context, in terms of France’s foreign policy agenda and the situation on the ground in Central Southern Anglophone Africa. Chapter Four analyses how the policies of state and non-state French actors were implemented in Rhodesia after 1965, and Chapter Five assesses the impact of these policies for France’s relations with Africa, Britain and the United States, as well as for the end of European rule in Rhodesia. This thesis argues that France’s African vision began to expand to include Anglophone Africa, not in the post-colonial or post-Cold War eras, but immediately following the Second World War, thus challenging the view that France was solely concerned with its own African Empire at this time. Throughout, Rhodesia was intertwined with France’s policies towards Francophone Africa in terms of motivations, methods and men. This, in turn, had far reaching consequences for France’s presence on the African continent, its relationship with “les Anglo-Saxons” and the course of Rhodesian decolonisation. ii Table of Contents Abstract p.ii Author’s declaration p.vii List of tables and illustrations p.viii Abbreviations p.ix Acknowledgements p.xi Dissemination p.xii Publications p.xii Conference Papers p.xii Introduction p.1 France and Francophone Africa: an exceptional p.1 relationship? Why Rhodesia? p.7 A connected history of decolonisation p.16 Worldviews, mind-sets and unspoken assumptions p.20 Methodology and sources p.24 Thesis structure p.30 Part One - France and Rhodesia before 1965 p.32 Chapter One - France and Rhodesia before 1965: the mind- p.33 set and the policy discourse “La France ne peut être la France sans grandeur”: The p.35 French foreign policy mind-set in the post-war period Le pré carré français and the restoration of French rang p.36 France and “les Anglo-Saxons” after the Second World War p.41 Beyond the Francophone fold: France in Southern Africa p.45 Une présence modeste: France and Southern Africa before the p.46 Second World War The development of Franco-South African relations in the post- p.48 war period Franco-Rhodesian relations before 1947 p.51 iii French perceptions of Southern Rhodesia in the post-war p.53 period ‘Un pays jeune et en pleine expansion’: French views of p.53 Rhodesia after 1947 Manifestations of France’s foreign policy mind-set in p.58 Rhodesia Rayonnement in Rhodesia: Anglophone Africa and the p.59 maintenance of France’s Great Power status Friend or foe?: France’s relations with “les Anglo-Saxons” in p.62 the Anglophone African context Diplomats, bureaucrats, policy-makers and businessmen: p.78 the agents of France’s Rhodesian policy Alternating actors, alternating agendas: the importance of p.81 context in shaping French responses to Rhodesia Conclusions p.93 Chapter Two - France and Rhodesia before 1965: the policy p.96 and its significance Putting France on the ‘map’ in Rhodesia: the development p.98 of Franco-Rhodesian relations, 1947-1965 Diplomacy p.98 Culture and propaganda p.105 Commerce and industry p.111 The triangular relations between France, Francophone p.126 Africa and Rhodesia The expansion of ties between Rhodesia, France and the p.127 French African Empire, 1947-1960 The multiplication and diversification of the triangular relations p.131 between France, Francophone Africa and Rhodesia after 1960 France, Rhodesia and the secession of Katanga p.137 Rhodesia and the réseaux franco-africains p.141 Conclusions p.150 iv Part Two – France and Rhodesia after 1965 p.154 Chapter Three – France and Rhodesia after 1965: the p.155 setting French perceptions of Rhodesia after UDI p.158 France’s Southern African strategy p.169 France and the question of Rhodesia in the United Nations p.176 France’s commitment to the principle of “non-interference” p.177 over the question of Rhodesia UK responses to France’s position towards Rhodesia in the UN p.182 Rhodesia and French efforts to prevent Anglophone dominance p.185 of the UN Franco-British relations in the Rhodesian context p.188 An entente in Anglophone Africa?: Franco-British cooperation p.188 and the Rhodesian crisis ‘Un test de leur [Britain’s] influence mondiale’: French p.194 perceptions of the UK government’s Rhodesian policy The pursuit of a French alternative to a bipolar political p.198 system in the context of Rhodesia The Communist threat in Rhodesia p.198 Preventing “Anglo-Saxon” dominance and maintaining p.203 France’s foreign policy autonomy Conclusions p.207 Chapter Four – France and Rhodesia after 1965: p.211 implementing policy Official relations between the French state and Rhodesia p.216 Parallel official relations between France and Rhodesia p.226 Private French individuals and groups in Rhodesia p.237 Sugar, tobacco and air transportation: French economic p.240 engagement with Rhodesia after UDI Southern African intermediaries in the Franco-Rhodesian p.248 connection The importance of French “men-on-the-spot” p.258 The triangular relations between France, Francophone p.263 Africa and Rhodesia Conclusions p.279 v Chapter Five – France and Rhodesia after 1965: impact p.281 The impact of French policy on the course of Rhodesian p.284 decolonisation The impact of French policy in Rhodesia on France’s p.295 Southern African strategy The impact of French policy in Rhodesia on France’s p.298 African policy France, Francophone Africa and white Rhodesia p.298 Franco-Zimbabwean relations in the late 1970s p.304 The impact of French policy in Rhodesia on Franco-British p.308 relations Anglo-French cooperation over the Rhodesian problem p.308 The limits of the “new relationship” p.314 The impact of French policy in Rhodesia on France’s Cold p.320 War strategy Conclusions p.327 Conclusions p.332 France and Rhodesia: an Anglophone dimension to Franco- p.332 African relations A return to Fashoda or entente cordiale renewed? France’s p.338 relations with “les Anglo-Saxons” in the Rhodesian context and beyond Une histoire croisée: France, Francophone Africa and the p.342 end of empire in Rhodesia Areas for future research p.347 Bibliography p.351 Primary sources p.351 Secondary sources p.356 Annex: Ethical approval p.371 vi Author’s declaration Whilst registered as a candidate for the above degree, I have not been registered for any other research award. The results and conclusions embodied in this thesis are the work of the named candidate and have not been submitted for any other academic award. Word count – 79, 748 words vii List of tables and illustrations Chapter Two Table 1: Franco-Rhodesian trade, 1947-1952 p.112 Table 2: Franco-Federation trade, 1953-1963 p.113 Chapter Four Figure 1: Franck Cazenave p.223 viii Abbreviations AEF - Afrique Equatoriale Française AFP - Agence France Presse AL - Direction Afrique-Levant, MAE AOF - Afrique Occidentale Française AP - Direction des Affaires Politiques, MAE BELC - Bureau pour l’Enseignement de la Langue et de la Civilisation Française à l’Etranger CAF - Central African Federation CCTA - Commission de Coopération Technique en Afrique au Sud du Sahara CFP – Compagnie Française des Pétroles CNCE - Centre National du Commerce Extérieur CO - Colonial Office CRO - Commonwealth Relations Office CSC - Cold Storage Commission CT - Service du Chiffre et des Transmissions DAM - Direction des Affaires Africaines et Malgaches, MAE DO - Dominion Office DREE - Direction des Relations Economiques Extérieures, MAEF EDC - European Defence Community EDF - Electricté de France EEC - European Economic Community EF - Direction des Affaires Economiques et Financières, MAE FCO - Foreign and Commonwealth Office FIDES - Fonds d’Investissement pour le Développement Economique et Social FISB - Federal Intelligence Security Bureau FLN - Front de Libération National, Algeria FO - Foreign Office MAE - Ministère des Affaires Etrangères MAEF - Ministère des Affaires Economiques et Financières MOCI - Moniteur Officiel du Commerce International MOD - French Ministry of Defence/ Ministère de la Défence MOF - Ministry of Overseas France/ Ministère de la France d’Outre-Mer NP - National Party, South Africa OAU - Organisation of African Unity OCAM - Organisation Commune Africaine et Malgache OFEMA - Office Français d’Exportation de Matériel Aéronautique ONU - Organisation des Nations Unies PCF - Parti Communiste Français PRC - People’s Republic