# Somalia and France

> France–Somalia relations: Djibouti and the 1960s, the Nairobi embassy, EU missions, debt, trade, Somaliland projects and UN positions.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/relations/france/
Last checked: 2026-11-13
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## How do Somalia and France relate today?

France has no embassy inside Somalia. The French Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, is accredited to Somalia ([France Diplomatie, Somalie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie)). France's foreign ministry describes the bilateral relationship as modest, with most French engagement going through the European Union and the United Nations ([France Diplomatie, relations bilatérales, updated 29 October 2026](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/relations-bilaterales)).

France takes part in three EU missions for Somalia ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/relations-bilaterales)):

- **[EUNAVFOR Atalanta](/en/institutions/uk-eu-military-in-somalia/)**, the naval operation against piracy.
- **EUTM Somalia**, which trains the Somali armed forces.
- **[EUCAP Somalia](/en/relations/european-union/)**, which builds maritime and justice capacity.

France exported US$13.6 million of goods to Somalia in 2024 and imported US$7.3 million, by French customs figures ([UN Comtrade, France–Somalia 2024](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?reporterCode=251&partnerCode=706&period=2024&flowCode=X,M&cmdCode=TOTAL)).

## When did contact begin?

France's link to the Somali lands began with the colony it held on the Gulf of Tadjoura, French Somaliland, later called the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas and, from 1977, the Republic of Djibouti. The division of the Somali lands into five parts, one of them French, is told on [Partition of Somali lands, 1884–1926](/en/history/partition-1884-1926/).

In the 1960s relations were strained because Somalia opposed the French presence in the Territory of the Afars and the Issas ([Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study*](http://countrystudies.us/somalia/17.htm)). France and Somalia established diplomatic relations soon after Somalia's independence in 1960 ([Wikipedia, France–Somalia relations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France%E2%80%93Somalia_relations)).

During the Ogaden war, on 10 November 1977, representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom, France and West Germany met in [London](/en/diaspora/london/) to coordinate a position on the conflict ([US Department of State, *FRUS 1977–1980*, vol. XVII, doc. 34](https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1977-80v17p1/d34)).

## Who are the ambassadors and envoys?

- **Embassy:** the French Embassy in Kenya, Peponi Gardens, off Peponi Road, Nairobi, covers Somalia ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie)).
- **The French embassy in Mogadishu** closed in June 1993 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France%E2%80%93Somalia_relations)).
- **Rémi Maréchaux** was named ambassador to Somalia in January 2014, and **Antoine Sivan** was accredited in July 2017 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France%E2%80%93Somalia_relations)).
- **Somalia's missions in France** are listed in France's directory of foreign representations ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie)).

## Who built the tie?

Few individual connectors appear in the French record. The named ones are the two ambassadors above, Rémi Maréchaux and Antoine Sivan ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France%E2%80%93Somalia_relations)). Most French work in Somalia is carried by EU missions and UN funding rather than by bilateral envoys ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/relations-bilaterales)).

## How much do they trade?

French customs figures, in US dollars ([UN Comtrade](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?reporterCode=251&partnerCode=706&period=2024&flowCode=X,M&cmdCode=TOTAL)):

- 2015: exports 14.3 million, imports 8.4 million ([UN Comtrade 2015](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?reporterCode=251&partnerCode=706&period=2015&flowCode=X,M&cmdCode=TOTAL))
- 2022: exports 16.5 million, imports 16.1 million ([UN Comtrade 2022](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?reporterCode=251&partnerCode=706&period=2022&flowCode=X,M&cmdCode=TOTAL))
- 2023: exports 38.0 million, imports 17.4 million ([UN Comtrade 2023](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?reporterCode=251&partnerCode=706&period=2023&flowCode=X,M&cmdCode=TOTAL))
- 2024: exports 13.6 million, imports 7.3 million

The French Treasury recorded €38.2 million of exports and €9.7 million of imports in 2017, mostly French food products ([France Diplomatie, présentation](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/presentation-de-la-somalie)). No French direct investment has been recorded since 2009 ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/relations-bilaterales)).

In 2024 France's top exports were electrical equipment, cereal-based foods and vehicles ([UN Comtrade, by product](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?reporterCode=251&partnerCode=706&period=2024&flowCode=X&cmdCode=AG2)). Its imports from Somalia included paper products and gums and resins such as frankincense ([UN Comtrade, by product](https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?reporterCode=251&partnerCode=706&period=2024&flowCode=M&cmdCode=AG2)).

## How much aid and money has gone in?

- **Direct aid:** €0.2 million in 2016, making France Somalia's 23rd bilateral donor ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/relations-bilaterales)).
- **Humanitarian aid:** €4.8 million in 2017 ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/relations-bilaterales)).
- **French Development Agency (AFD):** no planned action in Somalia in the short term ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/relations-bilaterales)).
- **Debt:** France is the third bilateral creditor of Somalia in the Paris Club, after the United States and Italy ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/relations-bilaterales)).
- **Through the EU and UN:** France contributes to EU funding of the African Union mission, over €1.6 billion since 2007, and through UN dues to the UN support office for the AU force ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/relations-bilaterales)).

## What about security?

France's security role runs through EU missions: Atalanta at sea, EUTM Somalia for army training and EUCAP Somalia for maritime and justice capacity ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/relations-bilaterales)). France sent personnel to the UN mission UNOSOM II in 1993–1995 ([UN Peacekeeping, UNOSOM II facts](https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/past/unosom2facts.html)). For the full picture see [Foreign forces in Somalia](/en/institutions/foreign-forces-in-somalia/).

## How does France deal with Somaliland and the member states?

France says [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/) accounts for most of its bilateral cooperation with Somalia ([France Diplomatie](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/relations-bilaterales)).

## Have there been disputes?

In the 1960s Somalia opposed France's continued rule in the Territory of the Afars and the Issas, which strained relations ([Library of Congress](http://countrystudies.us/somalia/17.htm)).

In January 2013 French commandos raided Bulo Marer in a bid to free the hostage Denis Allex; the federal government condemned the raid as unilateral ([Al Jazeera, 13 January 2013](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/1/13/france-confirms-failed-somali-hostage-rescue); [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulo_Marer_hostage_rescue_attempt)). See [The French raid on Bulo Marer, January 2013](/en/history/bulo-marer-raid-2013/).

## How many Somalis live in France?

At the end of 2025 UNHCR counted 17,014 Somali refugees and 1,783 Somali asylum seekers in France ([UNHCR Refugee Data Finder API](https://api.unhcr.org/population/v1/population/?limit=5&yearFrom=2025&yearTo=2025&coo=SOM&coa=FRA)). On 31 December 2017, 4,713 Somalis held a valid residence permit ([France Diplomatie, présentation](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/somalie/presentation-de-la-somalie)). See [France (Somali diaspora)](/en/diaspora/france/).

## Where does France stand in the UN and other bodies on Somalia?

France is a permanent member of the Security Council. In December 2025 talks on renewing the [Al-Shabaab](/en/history/al-shabaab/) sanctions, France asked to name ISIL-Somalia and said the Council must keep the central role in deciding whether to change the arms measures ([Security Council Report, December 2025](https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2025/12/al-shabaab-sanctions-vote-on-a-draft-resolution-renewing-the-sanctions-regime.php)). In the AUSSOM renewal talks the same month, France backed keeping political reporting on Somalia ([Security Council Report](https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2025/12/somalia-vote-on-aussom-mandate-renewal.php?print=true)). Both resolutions, 2806 and 2809, passed unanimously ([Security Council Report](https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2025/12/somalia-vote-on-aussom-mandate-renewal.php?print=true)).

## Related pages

- [Partition of Somali lands, 1884–1926](/en/history/partition-1884-1926/)
- [Ogaden war, 1977](/en/history/ogaden-war-1977/)
- [UN intervention, 1992–1995](/en/history/un-intervention-1992-1995/)
- [Piracy off Somalia](/en/institutions/piracy-off-somalia/)
- [Naval missions off Somalia](/en/institutions/naval-missions-off-somalia/)
- [The French raid on Bulo Marer, January 2013](/en/history/bulo-marer-raid-2013/)
- [Foreign forces in Somalia](/en/institutions/foreign-forces-in-somalia/)
- [France (Somali diaspora)](/en/diaspora/france/)

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