(Paris) France will not tolerate “any ultimatum” and will not be “sensitive to any pressure” in the management of the withdrawal of its troops from Mali, which will be done “in good order and in safety”, assured Tuesday in Paris the first French minister, Jean Castex.
Posted at 4:55 p.m.
While the ruling junta in Bamako asked Paris on Friday to send its soldiers “without delay”, Mr. Castex replied that “the safety of our soldiers, like that of our nationals, will be our priority”.
“We will not tolerate any ultimatum, and will not be sensitive to any pressure, whatever their source”, he hammered, in a declaration before the National Assembly followed by a debate without a vote.
France announced on Thursday the gradual disengagement of some 2,400 soldiers deployed in Mali, out of a total of 4,600 in the Sahel, in a context of strong tensions with the colonels who came to power by force in August 2020.
“On the military level, we will have to close the bases of Gossi, Ménaka and finally Gao. The maneuver will be carried out in good order and in safety and will last between four and six months”, explained the Prime Minister.
Returning to the reasons for the departure of France after nine years of commitment, Mr. Castex crushed a regime which “denied, one by one, its commitments” and which “chosen to rely on a private organization well known to Russian mercenaries, Wagner, whose economic model is based on the predation of the wealth of the countries in which it operates”.
PHOTO FLORENT VERGNES, FRANCE-PRESSE AGENCY
Demonstrators hold up a banner reading “Thank you Wagner”, the name of the Russian mercenary firm present in Mali, during a demonstration organized, in Bamako, on February 19, 2022, by the pan-Africanist group Yerewolo to celebrate the announcement of the withdrawal French troops from Mali
“It is no longer possible today for us to invest in a country whose authorities no longer wish to cooperate with the Europeans and hinder their ability to act”, he pleaded.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly assured that “we are taking all measures to avoid any contact” with Wagner.
“We are also preparing for the worst” and “are ready to react with the greatest firmness in the event of a threat to the Barkhane force”, she added. “We will not tolerate any provocation or hindrance during our redeployment.”
On behalf of La France insoumise, a left-wing opposition group, Jean-Luc Mélenchon considered that the intervention in Mali ended in “failure”, but added that “we deserve to be respected”. “France did not invade Mali, but came at the call of the Malian authorities,” recalled the presidential candidate.
“If there is failure, it is that of the military junta” Malian, considered Mme Parley.