 Following the restoration of M'ba's government in Gabon, the French intervened militarily in Africa roughly every other year.In 1995, the French Minister for Foreign Assistance Jacques Godfrain explained that Paris "will intervene each time an elected democratic power is overthrown by a coup d'état if a military cooperation agreement exists".Shortly after de Gaulle and Foccart's meeting, French commanders Haulin and Royer were released at the request of the French Embassy.