Description: From 1960 to 1995, from the Congo to the Comoros, French mercenaries participated in numerous conflicts on the African continent. Soldiers of fortune, they were often clandestine instruments of France's policy to maintain its influence in Africa and fight its competitors, particularly the Anglo-Saxons.
Brief description: David Francois, from France, earned his PhD in Contemporary History at the University of Burgundy and specialised in studying militant communism, its military history and relationship between politics and violence in contemporary history. In 2009, he co-authored the Guide des archives de l'Internationale communiste published by the French National Archives and the Maison des sciences de l'Homme in Dijon. He is regularly contributing articles for various French military history magazines and regular contributor to the French history website L'autre côté de la colline.