Military history of France intervention in Libya against Muammar Gaddafi. The year after, France intervened in Mali during that country's civil war, as Islamist militants appeared to threaten the south after seizing control of the arid north. Changes in the government of France, including Socialist François Hollande becoming president in 2012 after years of center-right governance, have done little to alter Paris' foreign policy in Africa. Hollande also proposed French military involvement in the Syrian civil war in the wake of chemical attacks French intelligence reports linked to the forces of President Bashar al-Assad in mid-2013. France has encouraged military cooperation at an EU
Civil-military co-operation Civil-military co-operation Civil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC) is the means by which a military commander connects with civilian agencies active in a theatre of operations. CIMIC activities are co-ordinated via the "G9" staff branch of a divisional, or other, headquarters. In high-level tri-service, or joint, headquarters (JHQ), the department is termed "J9". The United States Army has, since the Second World War, maintained civil affairs units. Part of their function includes CIMIC tasks, however, they have a much broader function and a different focus from most other CIMIC organizations. In the mid-1990s, primarily in response to lessons learned in Bosnia and Herzegovina