The French armies plan to share their bases in Africa with other partners such as the United States, according to the report of a hearing by Chief of Staff Thierry Burkhard before the Defense Committee of the National Assembly , published Friday. “Sharing” the bases “with the Americans or other” partners is “desirable if we want to reduce our visibility while maintaining the minimum footprint necessary to keep our access open,” declared the general on January 31 during a a hearing behind closed doors.
French President Emmanuel Macron plans to significantly reduce the French military presence in Africa, with the exception of Djibouti. In this capacity, he appointed former minister Jean-Marie Bockel to discuss with African partner countries new forms of French military presence on their soil.
The French armies are deployed on four bases in Africa, in Senegal (450 soldiers), Ivory Coast (600), Gabon (400) and Chad (1,000). Some 1,500 soldiers are also based in Djibouti. “Reducing the number of permanently deployed personnel is possible, it should not have too significant an effect on our efficiency or our responsiveness,” assured Thierry Burckhard to the deputies.
“Modify our layout plan”
French bases “are installed in capitals, and even sometimes isolated in expanding urban areas. Their footprint and their visibility have become difficult to manage. We will undoubtedly have to modify our implementation plan to reduce our vulnerabilities. If we can doing it with allies, so much the better,” he added.
However, the creation of common bases “depends on the agreement of the partner countries, who will be able to decide who they wish to work with”. But “the potential complementarities are numerous”, according to him. After a series of coups d’état in Mali, Burkina Faso and then Niger, the military juntas which took power in these countries pushed out the French army, marking the end of an era after a decade of intervention anti-jihadist to try to stop the spiral of violence in this deprived region. Jean-Marie Bockel is supposed to make his recommendations to the Elysée in July.