France, Oct. 23 -- "Too arrogant, too sure of itself, France failed to see the anti-French wave coming," Boisbouvier says. His book, Francafrique Is Dead, Long Live Africa-France, examines the breakdown of France's old model of relations with the continent.

For decades after African countries gained independence, Paris maintained privileged relationships with friendly leaders and sought to protect its strategic interests - sometimes through military intervention.

The system, known as Francafrique, gradually became synonymous with a neo-colonial pattern of French influence and patronage. Military retreat

French troops have been forced to withdraw from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where military governments have turned away from Paris a...