The article briefly presents and discusses the problems pertaining to the introduction of postcolonial perspectives in the field of francophone studies. ‘Francophone’ and ‘postcolonial’ studies have often been seen as rival academic fields. French scholars have generally considered ‘postcolonialism’ as an oversimplified and unduly politicized ‘Anglo-Saxon’ approach to the cultures of formerly colonized peoples. In recent years, though, there has been an increasingly fruitful dialogue between researchers on “la francophonie”, that have become willing to acknowledge that postcolonialism is at least worthy of debate. At the same time, both approaches have been challenged and stimulated by new theoretical paradigms focusing on developments such as globalization and transnationalism. The relationship between these two fields may now be seen to be synergetic rather than oppositional in nature.