The French and Jihadist Objectives in Mali

By spearheading the intervention in Mali, France is taking the lead in a mission previously dominated by the United States: weakening jihadist forces that could threaten Western interests. France's military mission essentially is to degrade and displace al Qaeda forces in northern Mali and to fill the resulting power vacuum with indigenous secular forces, while al Qaeda wants to disrupt the international intervention.

France is incurring a number of risks by leading the intervention. However, al Qaeda elements in Mali have threatened Paris' interests enough for it to take the lead in driving out the militants.