He should leave Mali in the coming days. Less than 24 hours after the Malian government’s dismissal of the French ambassador, the French political class reacted on Tuesday, February 1, during questions to the government in the National Assembly.
After the dismissal of its ambassador, should France disengage militarily from Mali? Yes, answers Marine Le Pen from Brest. The National Rally candidate calls for the repatriation of troops to Chad.
I think that our troops must be repatriated to Chad, I think that we must put an end to international aid of any kind whatsoever destined for Mali; we must prevent the transfer of funds, including personal ones, to Mali… I remind you that 53 of our soldiers were killed to protect Mali against the Islamists
Marine Le Pen castigates the attitude of Bamako
Same story on the side of La France insoumise and deputy Éric Coquerel: “ It is obvious that we must disengage from Mali. We have in no way weakened, I was going to say, jihadism in this country. All this is not very beneficial. »
In the middle of the presidential campaign, the government is attacked on its management of the Malian file, in particular by the communist Jean-Paul Lecoq: “ I say to the French government: look at what is happening, you cannot close your eyes to the evolution of the behavior of Africans, the attitude of Africans and the expectations of Africans. »
Asked several times by deputies about the crisis in the Hemicycle, the head of French diplomacy Jean-Yves Le Drian wanted to put things right, notably targeting the attitude of the military in power in Bamako. Right in his boots, despite the criticism, it is the security interests of France that he has put forward.
Our will is intact and it is not an event due to the illegitimacy of a coup government that will stop our fight against terrorism
Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister of Foreign Affairs
An opinion shared by the deputy Les Républicains Thibault Bazin, who however poses a condition: “ The best way to preserve our security is to be there, but we can’t do that on any condition, the countries there have to respect us. »
Three months before the presidential election, a withdrawal of French troops from Mali would appear to be a bitter setback for the government.
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