I have so many --

But one simple example is -- France continues to essentially sustain the CFA franc (a common currency in their former colonies in west Africa) and to intervene militarily there, for no real purpose except to maintain the image that they are still at least a "power". There are no economic interests -- the GDP of those countries, together, are probably smaller than Paris' (I am not exaggerating - the GDP of all African countries between the Saharan and South Africa, together, equal Belgium's). Economically it's nonsense.

So the only explanation is that they still want to create the illusion of being a major international power. Yeah, in West Africa, they certainly are