I agree. The big prize is Algeria.

Here are France's stated goals -

President Francois Hollande said France had three aims: to stop the rebel advances, to secure the capital, Bamako, and to help the Mali government regain control of the whole country.

He said France would take a lesser role "as soon as there is an African force, in coming days or weeks", adding that France did not intend to stay.

Hollande said: "France should only intervene in Africa in exceptional circumstances and for a limited time. That's what we will do." In response to questions about a return to France's controversial role in its former colonies, he said the Mali intervention, in an international legal framework with UN backing, had nothing to do with the practices of "a bygone era."