France–Guinea relations

France–Guinea relations refer to the bilateral diplomatic relations between France and Guinea.

France began establishing a colonial regime in Guinea in the 1880s and officially created the colony of French Guinea in 1891. Following the majority refusal of the Guinean population to join the French Community on 28 September 1958, Guinea became sovereign on 2 October of the same year. In 1960, Guinea abandoned the CFA franc.

In 1959, the SDECE launched Operation Persil from its base in Senegal with the aim of sabotaging the development of the newly independent Guinea and overthrowing its president, Ahmed Sékou Touré. France armed and trained groups of Guinean exiles opposed to the president. It also ensured that CFA francs remaining in Guinea could not be used in Senegal and Mali. Similar to the German Operation Bernhard, France produced counterfeit Guinean francs in order to destabilize the economy of the young state.

France and Guinea are linked by a series of bilateral cooperation agreements.

After independence, relations between the two countries were tense for a long period, and diplomatic relations were even severed in 1965. Following the restoration of diplomatic ties in 1975, relations gradually improved. Today, France's multifaceted influence in Guinea continues through the large Guinean diaspora in France, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and French government development assistance. France also allegedly attempted to overthrow the government of Ahmed Sékou Touré and reassert control over Guinea through a series of coups d’état, all of which failed. The Guinean government repeatedly accused France of plotting to overthrow the Guinean state, which contributed to the severance of diplomatic relations in 1965.

The strained and hostile relations between Guinea and France also affected Guinea's relations to some extent with neighboring Francophone African countries such as Senegal and Ivory Coast, as well as with Portugal, which controlled Guinea-Bissau. In 1970, Portuguese forces invaded Guinea but were defeated by the Guinean government and the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde.

France was among the leading countries involved in combating the Ebola epidemic in Guinea. France also supports the restructuring of the , which participate in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

Following a military coup in Guinea in 2021, the French government condemned the coup and called on the putschist soldiers to immediately release President Alpha Condé.

• Foreign relations of France
• Foreign relations of Guinea