Civic Service and the Question of Extra-Military Missions of the Army in Franco-Ivorian Military Relations (1960–1970)

With a negotiated decolonisation and a steadfast friendship between Félix Houphouët-Boigny and General Charles de Gaulle, Côte d’Ivoire, which had become independent, maintained excellent relations with France, its former colonial power. These close relations allowed it to benefit, within the framework of the Franco-Ivorian cooperation agreements, from French military assistance in setting up its armed forces. With this help, the Ivorian Army and Gendarmerie were thus taking their first steps under France’s military leadership. But divergences appeared at certain levels and the question of extra-military tasks or, more precisely, the importance granted to them in the missions of the Ivorian Armed Forces was the subject of heated debates between the two partners. The crux of the issue was the establishment and development of the Ivorian Civic Service, for which Abidjan had turned to Israel in the belief that this would not jeopardise French influence in the Ivorian defence establishment. This article revisits this issue by highlighting the intricacies and challenges in the creation of the Ivorian Civic Service.