Economist in 2016 as "every inch the Francophile" who was very close to successive governments in Paris from the time he came to power until his death. In 2012, the country declared an intention to add English as a second official language, as Ali Bongo who succeeded his father as president does not share his father's Francophilia. However, it was later clarified that the country intended to introduce English as a first foreign language in schools, while keeping French as the general medium of instruction and the sole official language. Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) President Félix Houphouët-Boigny of the Côte d'Ivoire was described as a "staunch Francophile" who maintained very close links with France, and successfully insisted that the French name for his country be used instead of the Ivory Coast. It was Houphouet-Boigny who coined the term France-Afrique (later shortened to Françafrique) to describe the "special relationship" between France and its former African colonies, in which Francophone African nations were in the French political, cultural, military and economic sphere of influence, something which Houphouet-Boigny welcomed, though France's influence in Africa has been highly controversial given that most of the African regimes the French supported have been dictatorships. North America Canada In Canada, the term has two distinct meanings, that of "appreciation of, or support for, France" and, more commonly, "appreciation of, or support for, French as an official language of Canada". With the expansion of French immersion programs in many schools following the passage of Official Languages Act of 1969 which elevated French to an equal official language of the national bureaucracy, many Anglophone Canadians have developed a greater appreciation for the French culture that is a part of the Canadian identity. Graduates of such programs (and others who speak French as an additional language) are called francophiles in Canada, as opposed to francophones which is the term typically reserved for native speakers or near-native fluent speakers of French. Haiti The Republic of Haiti was once the French colony of Saint-Domingue until a successful slave revolt drove the French out. Despite this history, the Haitian elite was traditionally very Francophile to the point that the Haitian writer Jean Price-Mars published a book in 1928 Ainsi Parla l'Oncle (So Spoke the Uncle) accusing the elite of bovarysme, of intentionally neglecting and ignoring traditional Haitian folk culture as it had too many West African elements and was not French enough for