Calls for imperial control of the disorganized periphery are still heard from major powers, and even from smaller states under threat. France has maintained an unmatched level of postcolonial control in many of its former sub-Saharan African colonies since their independence in 1960, demonstrating a masterful combination of military and economic power, for which long-cultivated political and cultural influences have been as important as force projection and financial support. Four dimensions of French “présence” are examined (military, political, economic, and cultural), requiring a historical understanding of the inherently unequal power relationships between France and its African clients. This dissertation provides comparative analysis of France’s relationships with four former colonies: Gabon, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and Chad. These countries of the former French Equatorial Africa are interesting because, although less prosperous, stable and politically connected to France than West Africa, and less strategically important than North Africa, they were valuable enough to receive consistent attention from the Elysée, military bases, intervention troops, the Franc Zone’s bank, and a large contingent of French military, intelligence, financial, and administrative personnel. This quasi-feudal pattern of patronage poses ethical and political dilemmas for a proud European power that sees itself as the womb of democracy. Gaullist political philosophy articulated clear goals of preponderant power and cultural greatness, which bore direct relation to the postcolonial continuity of French policy. In spite of accusations of neocolonialism and imperialism over the past four decades, France’s interventions in its chasse gardée have rarely been called breaches of sovereignty because they were covered since independence by extensive military and economic cooperation agreements. “Patronage” refers to protection and support, but one’s patron can demand services in return that can be either reasonable or exploitative. In French, the word “patron” means “boss,” but can also mean “pattern.” France’s intention was to shape these nations as well as to rule them. If France could no longer rule Africa in the ancient imperial manner of subsuming whole peoples under its own sovereignty, it remained able to exert enough control to keep its sub-Saharan clients in a condition of useful dependency.