I don't think Savate is generally thought to have african roots. It had its beginnings amongst french sailors, and who knows were those sailors might've been, eh?

But if I remember correctly, it is rather thought that possible influences are rather from the east.
The ground game and the free hands are thought to have originated from on-ship fighting - When there is a high sea, it is a good hing to be able to kick forcefully when holding on to something or when lying down. I'm doing capoeira myself (an art that does have clear african roots), and I can't really say I feel that these are very similar. They do have similarities, though, in the fact that they both are clearly evolved out of dirty street fighting tricks, rather than, say, a formal military setting or something. There is a certain grittiness to it
Speaking of european arts -
@Klumpen, have you looked at Glima?
