French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday December 20 that the French base installed in Djibouti would be “ reinvent ” as ” projection point » for “ missions » in Africa, after the forced withdrawal of French forces from the Sahel.
2 mins
“ Our role is changing in Africa (..) because the world is changing in Africa, because public opinions are changing, because governments are changing », declared the Head of State in front of the French forces stationed in Djibouti, before sharing a Christmas dinner with them.
A few hours ago, as you know, I was alongside our compatriots in Mayotte, I saw the desolation, the distress, the disarray. The State is immobilized in all its components and here I want to say how our armed forces play an essential role. Nearly 900 soldiers are deployed today, in addition to our police officers and gendarmes. And this presence reassures, but this presence also changes life, secures, stabilizes. And so I said, yes, our overseas territories are changing, and you play a fundamental role in the same way. I know how much this raises legitimate questions here, our changed role in Africa. But this is what we wanted because the world is changing in Africa, because public opinions are changing, because governments are changing and because we sovereignly decided in February 2023, after several years of progressive change, eh well, to rebuild a partnership. And so it is the strength of our armies to think that and to go back on established habits. But our influence evolves with the world and that’s a good thing
Emmanuel Macron: “Our role is changing in Africa…”
“ And because we sovereignly decided in February 2023, after several years of progressive change, to rebuild a partnership based on respected partners “, ” to whom we must help with training, equipment, intelligence, for specific operations “, he recalled.
It was necessary “ change the logic that was ours in too many countries of installed, plethora, permanent bases, which fueled ambiguities “, he continued.
Also readFrance and its partners confirm a “coordinated withdrawal” from Mali
France has already been forced to evacuate its troops from Mali, from Burkina Faso and Niger between 2022 and 2023 after the coming to power of military juntas which have moved closer to Moscow.
Also readFrance has begun the final stage of its military withdrawal from Niger
A first contingent of 120 French soldiers also left Chad on Friday, December 20, said the Chadian Ministry of the Armed Forces in a press release published on Facebook. Chad made the request on November 29. Senegal also expressed its wish to see France close its military bases, confirming a reorganization of the French system which benefits Russian influence.
Also readChad requests departure of French forces by January 31, 2025, negotiations underway
If Djibouti is above all focused on France’s Indo-Pacific strategy, by contributing to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, ” it is also, and will also have to be reinvented, a projection point for some of our African missions », added the head of state without further details.
The Djibouti base, which hosts 1,500 soldiers, is the largest French contingent abroad and the only one not affected by the historic downsizing planned on the African continent, after a series of disappointments in the Sahel. in recent years.
Also readThe very strategic French base in Djibouti
France and Djibouti renewed their defense cooperation treaty (TCMD) in July. In addition to rent for the use of the base, which has been the subject of heated discussions, France provides air policing over Djibouti. A prized island of stability in a troubled region, Djibouti is located opposite Yemen, at the exit of the Red Sea, in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait where a large part of world trade passes between Asia and the West.