France is "helping" the Central African Republic

Here's a picture of two French soldiers "helping" a citizen of the Central African Republic (CAR):

[Borrowed from http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/france-seeks-financial-help-from-europe-for-africa-mission-a-939759.html]

Hmmm ... somehow this looks more like "stop, frisk, tie wrap, and rend for subsequent interrogation by torture" than "helping".

Are the French there because of human rights abuses, or to take advantage of the following:

The country [CAR] has rich but largely unexploited natural resources in the form of diamonds, gold, uranium, and other minerals.

[Borrowed from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Central_African_Republic]

Here's a Scott Horton show podcast interview with Rob Prince which asks the same question:

http://scotthorton.org/interviews/2013/12/18/121813-rob-prince/

You be the judge. "Stability" can mean less bloodshed, but its chief attribute is that it clears the locals out of the way so that plundering of their natural resources can proceed apace.