war

Islamists launch new attack on Gao in northern Mali

International — Link

Islamist rebels launched attack on the northern town of Gao, liberated from their control in January, but were repelled after two hours of fighting.

Hollande says Islamist 'leaders' killed in Mali

International — Link

French president does not name 'terrorist leaders' killed in recent fighting in Mali, where a fourth member of French forces died on Wednesday.

Currency war likely between Germany, France

France — Link

Berlin favors a stronger euro, but France's president says the single currency’s heady rise on the foreign exchanges needs to be brought under control.

Hollande and 'the Bamako effect'

International — Link

President Hollande has enjoyed acclaim for his handling of the French-led war in Mali, but a sterner challenge awaits, argues The Economist.

The energy stakes in the Sahel surrounding the war in Mali

International — Analysis

As in many recent conflicts involving Western intervention in other countries, France’s decision to wage war against Islamist militants in Mali has been accused by some as furthering its energy interests and economic investments, a suggestion that President François Hollande has unequivocally denied. Mediapart’s international affairs specialist Thomas Cantaloube finds the truth lies in between as he examines here just what are France's interests in the region. While Mali has quasi-inexistent mineral or energy resources, in the wider Sahel area, comprising the north of Mali, the east of Mauretania, Niger and parts of Algeria and Libya, the energy issue is significant.

'Hundreds' killed in French Mali campaign

International — Link

French defence minister claims 'several hundred' Islamist militants have been killed since France launched an offensive against them in Mali last month.

Time presses for Hollande's gamble in Mali

International

French fighter jets began bombing missions over northern Mali on Sunday, where they are targeting Jihadist bases and supply depots, in the second - and what President François Hollande hopes will be the final – stage of France’s military campaign to oust the rebels from the West African country, and which began on January 11th. But while the war has so far been a political triumph for Hollande, the future is clouded by both the continuing delays in forming an adequate pan-African force to allow for a French withdrawal, and the new military challenges of fighting the rebels in mountainous terrain with which they are especially familiar. Lénaïg Bredoux reports.

Storm halts French advance into last Mali stronghold

International — Link

France says a sandstorm is preventing its forces from entering the town of Kidal in northern Mali in their offensive against Islamist militants.

Storm halts French advance into last Mali stronghold

International — Link

France says a sandstorm is preventing its forces from entering the town of Kidal in northern Mali in their offensive against Islamist militants.

French-led troops march on for key battle of Timbuktu

International — Link

French and Malian forces secure the northern Mali town of Gao, once an Islamist stronghold, and advance on to the key town of Timbuktu.

Don't mention 'the war': the semantic battle of the French campaign in Mali

International — Opinion

The French ‘military intervention’ that began in Mali on January 11th is also a war of words in which the socialist government has adopted semantics akin to neo-conservative rhetoric, argues Mediapart political correspondent Stéphane Alliès, who presents here some choice examples of ministerial sleight of tongue.

Mali Islamists 'tougher than France anticipated'

International — Link

French troops' initial clashes have shown that the desert fighters are better trained and equipped than France had expected before intervention.

War graves desecrated as leaders of France and Germany urge closer European union

International — Link

Desecration of graves of Germans killed in World War I and buried in a French cemetery clouds historic meeting.

How France helped both sides in the Falklands War

International — Link

As the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War approaches, the BBC reports on how a French arms technical team leant help to the Argentine junta.

From ‘honeymoon’ to war: what US cables said about French courtship of Gaddafi

International — Investigation

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has assumed a high profile in the international military offensive launched to support the rebellion against the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. But US diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks, and published here by Mediapart, shed a revealing light upon previously sweet relations between Sarkozy and Gaddafi (photo), described by one American ambassador as a "honeymoon" period of "high hopes for lucrative contracts".