France–Tunisia Relations
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

France–Tunisia relations are the current and historical relations between
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
. France invaded Tunisia in 1881 and established the
French protectorate of Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (; '), officially the Regency of Tunis () and commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial empire era, and lasted until Tunisian independence in 1956. T ...
, which lasted until Tunisia's independence in 1956. In 1957, France cut off financial aid totaling $33.5 million to Tunisia because of its support for neighboring
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
's independence movements. At the time, Tunisian President
Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian politician and statesman who served as the Head of Government of Tunisia, prime minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia from 1956 to 1957, and then as the first president of Tunisia from 1 ...
noted "France and Tunisia will never again be exclusive partners".Democracy cannot be bargained for...
''
Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'', 8 July 1957.
From 1987 until the 2011 Tunisian Revolution, France refused to criticize Tunisian President and ally
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (Tunisian Arabic: , ; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali or Ezzine, was a Tunisian politician who served as the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. In that year, during the Tun ...
, despite the deaths of numerous non-violent protesters. Ben Ali eventually resigned. In October 2023, a demonstration in front of the French embassy in Tunis, condemning the "solidarity" visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Israel. They demanded the expulsion of the French ambassador to Tunisia, Anne Gueguen, denounced the Emmanuel Macron's visit to Tel Aviv on Tuesday and accused Paris of supporting Israel in its war against the Gaza Strip."Monde Tunisie : Manifestation devant l'ambassade de France pour dénoncer la visite de Macron en Israël"
''Agence Anadolu'', 25 October 2023.


Resident diplomatic missions

* France has an embassy in
Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
. * Tunisia has an embassy in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and consulates-general in
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
and
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
and consulates in
Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
,
Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionPantin Pantin () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. In 2019 its population was estimated to be 59,846. Pantin is located on the edge of ...
,
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
and
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
. File:French embassy Tunis.JPG, Embassy of France in Tunis File:Centre de vote Ambassade (France 1), élections législatives tunisiennes 2019-1.jpg, Embassy of Tunisia in Paris File:Consulat général de Tunisie à Paris.jpg, Consulate-General of Tunisia in Paris File:Avenue Maréchal Foch, Lyon - Consulate General de Tunisie (35372484296).jpg, Consulate-General of Tunisia in Lyon File:Consulat de Tunisie à Pantin novembre 2016 - 1.jpg, Consulate-General of Tunisia in Pantin


See also

*
Foreign relations of France In the 19th century France built a new French colonial empire second only to the British Empire. It was humiliated in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, which marked the rise of Germany to dominance in Europe. France allied with Great Bri ...
*
Foreign relations of Tunisia Former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has maintained Tunisia's long-time policy of seeking good relations with the West, while playing an active role in Arab and African regional bodies. President Habib Bourguiba took a nonaligned stance but em ...
*
French conquest of Tunisia The French conquest of Tunisia occurred in two phases in 1881: the first (28 April – 12 May) consisting of the invasion and securing of the country before the signing of a treaty of protection, and the second (10 June – 28 October) consistin ...
*
History of French-era Tunisia The history of Tunisia under French rule began in 1881 with the establishment of the French Protectorate of Tunisia, French protectorate and ended in 1956 with Tunisian independence. The France, French presence in Tunisia came five decades after ...


References


Further reading

* Krüger, Laura-Theresa, and Bernhard Stahl. "The French foreign policy U-turn in the Arab Spring–the case of Tunisia". '' Mediterranean Politics'' 23.2 (2018): 197-22
online
* Wood, Pia Christina
"French foreign policy and Tunisia: do human rights matter?"
''
Middle East Policy ''Middle East Policy'' is an academic peer-reviewed journal on the Middle East region in the field of foreign policy founded in 1982, published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Middle East Policy Council. Its current editor is Anne Joy ...
'' 8#2 (2002), p. 92+.


External links


"Libya and Tunisia prompt France foreign policy changes"
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, 28 February 2011.
Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
Bilateral relations of Tunisia {{Bilateralrelations-stub