France has limited direct interests in Mali itself, but the West African country is geographically centered in the heart of France's former colonial empire. Unable to trust Malian forces alone to repel al Qaeda, France could not tolerate an unfettered jihadist base of operations that could threaten its economic interests in surrounding countries. Those interests include energy resources in Algeria, uranium in Niger to fuel France's robust nuclear sector and gold mining in Mauritania. France also has agrarian commercial interests in the region, including cotton in Mali and cocoa in Ivory Coast. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb faces numerous constraints in operating in these neighboring countries, which is why it originally sought refuge in Mali when there was a power vacuum.