The question remains unanswered after the announcements made by Emmanuel Macron on Monday on his policy in Africa. The Head of State has promised a visible reduction in military personnel, in facilities “co-managed” with African countries.
Emmanuel Macron advocated “humility” And “the responsibility” of France’s action in Africa, Monday, February 27, in Paris, during a press conference on its new African policy. On the military front, the President reported a “visible decrease” French military personnel in Africa “in the coming months”, this which questions the new missions of French soldiers in Africa and the objectives pursued by France.
The decision to maintain but also to reduce and transform the French bases in Africa corresponds well to the policy of the “at the same time” dear to Emmanuel Macron. It’s a arbitration between the French military, favorable to their maintenance, and certain diplomats opposed to this presence which complicates their relations with the African States.
More than 4,000 soldiers present on site
In West Africa, the main base is in Côte d’Ivoire near Abidjan where 900 men are stationed, Senegal and Gabon each hosting 350 soldiers. Added to this are more than 2,500 soldiers divided between Niger and Chad, after the departure of French forces from Mali and Burkina.
Emmanuel Macron did not specify on Monday February 27 the proportion of fewer troops and when. President was content to speak of “visible reduction in staff in renamed facilities, some transformed into academies and others into bases managed in partnership with African countries.
A major political shift
France’s military presence makes it an ideal scapegoat and generates real anti-French sentiment in Africa, fueled by foreign powers such as Russia, but also by regimes in place, such as in Mali and Burkina, or by their opponents. For decades, the defense agreements have been considered by some sometimes infrequent African heads of state as a guarantee that Paris gives them to stay in power. Emmanuel Macron hopes to remove this ambiguity, this is the meaning of his formula “France is not a life insurance company to settle the political problems of different countries”.
This announcement sounds like a disengagement because, beyond words, it is indeed a partial withdrawal. The future repercussion will be a loss of effectiveness and influence on the ground, mEven if Paris promises to train African soldiers and better equip them, the deadlines and results are uncertain. Proof that France is resigned to no longer playing the same role in this part of West Africa, President Macron is careful not to reserve the same principle of partnership for the large French base in Djibouti with its 1,500 men. , ua major installation for the Elysée’s Indo-Pacific Policy Project.