Free French Africa

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Afrique française libre Free French Africa
Flag
Free French Africa in November 1940, including Chad, French Cameroon, Ubangi-Shari, Gabon, French Congo.
Capital	Brazzaville (1940–1944) Algiers (1943–1944)
Official language	French
Type	Federation
Membership	French Equatorial Africa French Cameroon
Leaders
• High Commissioner	Edgar de Larminat (1940–41) Adolphe Sicé (1941–42)
Establishment	August 1940

Free French Africa (French: Afrique française libre, sometimes abbreviated to AFL) was the political entity which collectively represented the colonial territories of French Equatorial Africa and Cameroon under the control of Free France in World War II.

It provided a political and territorial base for Free France and strengthened General Charles de Gaulle's international position. It made a major contribution to the war effort by financing the French Resistance, by the contribution of its many soldiers to the Free French Forces, and by the military exploitation of its installations and territories.

Because of its geographical location, Free French Africa offered a considerable asset to the Allies, favoring military operations from Chad in the Western Desert Campaign in Egypt and Libya, as well as facilitating communications across the continent, thus giving British colonies the ability to communicate with each other.