[Pilsner]

From the 70s on, France began granting independence to many of it colonies and then signing agreements with them

France also worked both to make certain that its preferred candidate won the first post independence "election" and that one of the agreements he signed was for defense support, so that the French Military could train, and French Intelligence monitor, the new nation's armed forces.

Outside of Indochina, the system has worked pretty well for France.

[Rockingham]

Yup. The French have considerable cleverness and a higher tolerance for hypocrisy than we “Anglo-Americans.”