France plans to reduce its military presence in West and Central Africa to around 600 troops, aligning with President Emmanuel Macron’s strategy to limit the French military footprint in the region, according to three sources reported by AFP.
In February 2023, Macron announced a significant reduction in French troop presence in Africa, responding to rising anti-French sentiment in some former colonies and increasing competition from countries like Russia for regional influence.
The plan, under discussion with African partners, aims to drastically reduce France’s “pre-positioned” forces in the region.
According to government and military sources, France will maintain only around 100 troops in Gabon, down from 350, and around 100 troops in Senegal, also down from 350.
In Ivory Coast, troop numbers will be reduced from 600 to approximately 100, while in Chad, the presence will decrease from 1,000 to around 300.
This reduced presence may be periodically expanded based on the needs of local partners, the sources noted. The French General Staff declined to comment.
Until recently, France had around 1,600 pre-deployed forces in West Africa and Gabon and over 5,000 troops in the Sahel region as part of the Barkhane anti-jihadist operation.
However, French forces have been gradually pushed out by the juntas in Mali (2021), Burkina Faso (2022), and Niger (2023), all of which have since established security agreements with Russia. Chad, led by Mahamat Idriss Deby, remains the only Sahel country hosting French soldiers.
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Chad is surrounded by the Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya, and Niger, which host Russian paramilitary forces resulting from the reorganization of the Wagner group after its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, died in a plane crash last August.
In February, Macron tasked former minister Jean-Marie Bockel with developing new modalities for the French military presence in collaboration with African partners.
Bockel’s conclusions are expected in July. In May, Bockel informed the Senate that France aims to “reduce its visible presence but maintain logistical, human, and material access to these countries while reinforcing our action in response to their aspirations.”
The French army plans to establish a Paris-based command dedicated to Africa this summer, according to sources. General Thierry Burkhard, chief of staff of France’s armed forces, mentioned the possibility of “pooling” bases with American or European partners.
The new structure aims to maintain relations with local military authorities, gather intelligence, and pursue operational partnerships.
French soldiers will shift from combat missions to providing training and capabilities to partner countries upon request.
In Ivory Coast, the reduction has already begun, with the number of troops decreasing from 900 to 600.
In Senegal, the military presence is also being reduced.
Senegal’s new left-wing pan-Africanist president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, emphasized the importance of national sovereignty.
Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko stated in May that the country’s desire for self-determination was “incompatible with the entrenched presence of foreign military bases,” though bilateral defense agreements remain intact.
The French base in Djibouti, home to 1,500 French troops, will not be affected by the downsizing.
France seeks to retain its foothold in Djibouti, strategically located at the mouth of the Red Sea on the western shore of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, through which around 40% of international trade passes.
