http://newsjunkiepost.com/2013/01/14/mali-frances-neo-colonial-war-for-uranium/
France generates so much electricity so cheaply from its atomic generation it actually sells electricity to Italy, among other countries, for a profit. However, France lost privileged access to Niger's uranium mines, to which it had an exclusive rights up until about 3 years ago. Uranium is a key energy resource for France and its price is now being squeezed. Mali is a former French colony next door to Niger, and it has uranium resources too. Like Niger, Mali's uranium (and underexploited oil resources) are located in the northern part of the country where the Tuareg people are in revolt.
The links embedded in the story above, particularly the one by Antoine Roger Lokongo explain in some greater detail how French colonialism in western Africa has never really ended. Incredibly, France under the
Pacte Coloniale administers the bank reserves of the 14 African states which it freed in 1960. There seems to be zero accounting of how the French treasury has been managing these deposits. Meanwhile France plays a domineering role in the region, backing its favorite politicians, currying influence and obliging the governments of its former colonies with military tutelage and assistance, and generally keeping its own corporate interests in positions of advantage.
The influence of the French is so strong that when Mali's President was overthrown in a coup last Spring, the French were involved in designating a new 3 man interim government.
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