While the Barkhane anti-jihadist force is in the process of completing its departure from Mali, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday his desire to “rethink all (of France’s military devices) on the African continent by the fall. “. Saying he wanted “less posed and less exposed devices”, he judged that it was a “strategic necessity”, evoking in a speech to the Ministry of the Armed Forces his desire to “succeed in building a more long-term intimacy strong with the African armies, to rebuild a capacity to train, here and there”.
France, a former colonial power in part of the countries of the continent, maintains a strong military presence there. In addition to its commitment to the anti-jihadist fight in the Sahel, in full restructuring, it has elements deployed in Senegal, Gabon and Djibouti.
Emmanuel Macron also spoke of the need for a “continuum between our diplomatic offer, our renewed actions for the African partnership, our development actions” in Africa. “It’s a profound paradigm shift,” he said. “We must continue our commitment against the terrorist threat everywhere, especially in Africa. »
A presence halved in the Sahel
Yesterday a key partner of Bamako, France, a former colonial power, is now persona non grata and is preparing to leave Mali within a few weeks. The junta in power since 2020 pushed out the French army and appealed to the Russians, via the sulphurous paramilitary company Wagner, even if Bamako denies it.
Once disengaged from Mali, France will have halved its presence in the Sahel by maintaining only around 2,500 soldiers in the region. But Paris has been saying for months that it is not giving up on the fight against terrorism and is talking with the countries of the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea to prepare new forms of intervention.
In Niger, the French will maintain more than a thousand troops and air capabilities to provide fire support and intelligence as part of a “combat partnership” with the Niger Armed Forces (FAN), deployed with 250 troops. French near the border with Mali against jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.
Paris had also announced on July 1, logically, the end of the Takuba task force in Mali, an aggregation of European special forces, collateral victim of tensions with the colonels in power in Bamako. The contours of European participation in the anti-jihadist fight in Africa remain to be defined.