Relationship dossier
France
Madagascar
Relationship assessment
Substantial cooperation shaped by colonial history and a continuing sovereignty dispute
France toward Madagascar
+25France provides development assistance to Madagascar and maintains bilateral defense cooperation. France also administers the Îles Éparses, which Madagascar claims, leaving a significant sovereignty dispute unresolved.
Madagascar toward France
+20Madagascar cooperates with France on development and defense matters. The Malagasy government has pursued its claim to the Îles Éparses and engaged in bilateral discussions with France over the dispute.
Overall relationship
+20The relationship has durable cooperative ties in development and defense, alongside enduring historical sensitivities and the unresolved Îles Éparses dispute. Those features make the relationship substantially cooperative but not an unqualified partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
France and Madagascar maintain substantial government cooperation, including development assistance and defense cooperation. Their relationship is also shaped by France’s colonial rule and an unresolved sovereignty dispute over the Îles Éparses, which Madagascar claims and France administers. These ties combine sustained cooperation with significant historical and political sensitivities.
Areas of tension
- Madagascar's sovereignty claim to the Îles Éparses, administered by France.
- The enduring political sensitivity of France's colonial history in Madagascar.
Key developments
Madagascar became independent from France.
France and Madagascar established a bilateral dialogue on the sovereignty dispute over the Îles Éparses.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of current development and defense cooperation are unclear.
- The timing and prospects for resolving the Îles Éparses sovereignty dispute remain uncertain.