France is to reduce its military presence in Africa and transform its bases into partnerships with African soldiers, Emmanuel Macron has said ahead of a crucial trip to the continent this week, reports The Guardian.
The French president’s comments came as anti-French sentiment runs high in several former colonies in the Sahel, and Paris seeks to counter growing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent.
“The [military] bases as they exist now are a heritage from the past,” Macron said. He promised to “Africanise” the bases in the coming months. Some would become “academies” that would be co-run by French and African armies. The number of French soldiers would go down, but there would be increased efforts on training and equipment.
This “reorganisation … does not intend to be a withdrawal”, he said, adding: “We will remain, but with a reduced footprint.”
The promise to overhaul France’s military bases comes in the wake of France’s recent withdrawal from Mali and Burkina Faso after military coups led to fallouts with Paris. First, the ruling junta in Mali led to French troops leaving last year, then army officers running neighbouring Burkina Faso followed suit last month, asking Paris to empty its garrison of about 400 special forces.
France, which for a decade was at the forefront of operations against Islamist insurgents in the Sahel, has about 3,000 troops in Africa, down from more than 5,000 two years ago.
Macron said France must show “deep humility” in Africa, amid what he called an “unprecedented historic situation” of security challenges and the climate crisis.