| Summary: | Africa became the hub of European political, economic, social and military activities during the period of European conquest. The emergence of legitimate commerce after the end of slave trade in 1807 marked the beginning of a new era in African history. With the new trend and development in Europe occasioned by legitimate commerce, European countries notably British, Portugal and France maintained economic, political and social relations with African states. France and Britain were the main players in the quest for territorial and strategic control in Africa. This paper examines the changing pattern of French African policy since 1960. For a clear conceptual analysis, the paper examines the historicity of France Africa relations in a bid to identifying areas of cooperation and changes since 1960. The paper also focuses on the circumstances that resulted in the new French policy toward Africa, although this policy was not a total departure from the colonial past but a readjustment of the existing policies to suit the prevailing developments in the domestic and international environment. The study adopts the descriptive and analytical research method. It utilises primary and secondary sources ranging from government publications, newspaper records, books and journals among other sources. The work is organised thematically and chronologically. From what has been done so far in the research, the study establishes that the changing pattern of French policy toward Africa since 1960 was occasioned by domestic and international exigencies.
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