French policy shift leaves Gabon's Bongo out in the cold

French President Francois Hollande (3rd L) surrounded by African leaders, from L-R, Guinea's President Alpha Conde, Benin's President Boni Yayi, Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba, President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana and Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn before the opening of a pre-COP21 working lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Files

DAKAR (Reuters) - In the heyday of former President Omar Bongo, Gabon and its oil wealth were a central pillar of "La Francafrique", a shadowy network that enabled France's troops to defend African autocrats in exchange for juicy contracts for French companies.

Thanks partly to this web of diplomacy and trade backed by French firepower, Bongo stayed in office for 42 years before his death in 2009. France's energy firms, meanwhile, had undisputed claims to some of the continent's richest oil fields.