Gabon became the last of France's former Equatorial African colonies to gain independence in 1960, with Léon M'ba becoming president. Rich in oil, manganese, and timber, the nation maintained unusually close ties to Paris after independence, a relationship critics later called 'Françafrique.' The date remains Gabon's national holiday.
Gabon's transition to independence was notably calmer than many African decolonizations, largely because France had no intention of loosening its grip entirely. Léon M'ba, a former colonial civil servant, was seen by Paris as a reliable partner, and French troops would later intervene militarily in 1964 to keep him in power after a coup attempt—an early sign of how nominal Gabonese sovereignty coexisted with deep French influence over its politics, military, and economy.
The country's wealth in oil and minerals made it a prized partner rather than a burden, and French companies retained enormous stakes in Gabonese resources for decades. Omar Bongo, M'ba's eventual successor, would go on to rule for 41 years, one of the longest presidencies in modern African history, cementing a system where formal independence masked deep continuity with colonial-era power structures.