During his first visit to South Africa last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France intended to re-negotiate its defense agreements with Africa, a move widely seen as "a major shift" in his nation's policies toward Africa where France had been a key colonial power until the1960s.

Speaking at the South African parliament in Cape Town, Sarkozy said France would no longer play a "policing role" in Africa and would assist the continent to become a player in globalization.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (R) pose with former South African President Nelson Mandela during their visit to the Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg February 29, 2008.(Xinhua File Photo)