The rearticulation of the French military presence in Africa is accelerating at the end of the year. Two countries, Chad and Senegal, have chosen to end the defense agreements that linked them to Paris. This without waiting for French intentions. So what remains of the French bases on the continent?
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The report by Jean-Marie Bockel, personal envoy of President Emmanuel Macron to the African countries concerned by the reconfiguration of the French military system, was submitted on November 25 to the Élysée. It has not yet been made public, but it is already obsolete.
History is indeed accelerating and at the end of 2024, two historic partners of France, Senegal And Chadhave chosen to cut the military moorings, putting an end to an armed presence inherited from history. In a few weeks or months at most, there will be no more French elements in Dakar neither French flag on the Kosseï camp in Ndjamenhas.
There remains Gabon and especially Ivory Coast, but whether in Abidjan or at Camp de Gaulle in Libreville, the new philosophy is already at work. It is based on areas that are initially shared, then which will be entirely placed under the authority of the host countries. There will therefore no longer be a large base or contingent, but joint liaison detachments. Key cores of around a hundred soldiers will have the mission of hosting temporary detachments whose size will fluctuate according to exercises, training and operations.
Djibouti, the last French military hold on the African continent
Djibouti is therefore the last French military influence on the African continent. It is an eminently strategic base, oriented towards the Indo-Pacific, a point of support towards the French territories of the Indian Ocean, it is also a pole of stability in a regional environment which is a real cauldron.
Djibouti is also the only deep-water port in the region; France permanently deploys 1,500 men there, serving in particular a naval base and an air base. This is just a stone’s throw from the Bab-el-Mendeb Strait, where 15% of world maritime traffic passes. Djibouti and Paris are linked by a very specific defense agreement which includes a security clause: France provides air policing and undertakes to protect Djibouti.
But the French forces are not alone there. The United States also has its only permanent base in Africa. And in 2017, Beijing opened its first overseas military base there, a hold which has since continued to grow in importance. According to observers, the Chinese are pushing, the port of Djibouti is in fact not expandable, and the place is expensive.
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