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French

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10670/1.2usxgx

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France and the Italian ‘claims’ in Tunisia following decolonisation

Abstract

`titreb France and the Italian “claims” over Tunisia in the aftermath of decolonization `/titreb While France’s influence in the Mediterranean was being questioned by the process of decolonization, Italy used its colonial disinterest in order to establish a special relationship with the newly independent states of North Africa. Tunisia had, in the past, been a central target of Italian colonial claims because of its important Italian community and its geographical proximity. As a result of a more aggressive and more autonomous Mediterranean policy, as part of the power play within the alliances, the Italian authorities multiplied their initiatives in favour of a rapprochement with Bourguiba that would enable the increase of commercial relations between the two countries. After the settlement of various disputes regarding fishing areas in the straits of Sicily and the liquidation of Italian assets in Tunisia, a commercial agreement was signed in December 1961, followed a year later by an agreement of cooperation. Furthermore, Tunisia and the rest of North Africa were seen by Italy as a field of oil-bearing exploration capable of providing the energy resources needed for the Italian “economic miracle”. The president of the Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI), Enrico Mattei, used tested methods to obtain permissions to drilling oil wells and to exploit them. He also took advantage of the French-Tunisian tension in order to extend the company’s area of research and to multiply the number of oil wells. Thus, Mattei, who was also disliked for his relations with the Algerian nationalists, became the person the French authorities loved to hate. In general, France was particularly wary of these Italian initiatives which they suspected of aiming at her substitution. The cautious attitude of Rome during the Bizerte crisis in 1961, however, gave some proof of the Italian solidarity in the spirit of the Atlantic Alliance and the project of European integration. Moreover, the blatant inadequacy between the discourse of Italy’s Mediterranean policy and the means at its disposal, as well as the fickleness of its Tunisian partner, resulted in reassuring the French concerning the capacity of the Italians harm French interests.

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