This primarily targets the French contingent (350 troops) and marks another step toward reducing, and potentially ending, France’s military presence in Africa.
In fact, Senegal has no other military bases. A former French colony, the country is home to a significant number of French citizens and hosts numerous French companies. For some, this move to expel French forces might seem unexpected. However, it has been a long time coming. Senegal’s current government, in power for less than a year, has taken a firm stance against the French military presence since its inception.
Senegal, like several other nations in “French Africa,” seeks to fully break free from its colonial legacy. French troops have already been expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Recently, the last French contingent left the Faya military base in Chad, which had previously housed around 1,000 French soldiers. The French have also been asked to leave Côte d’Ivoire, where 600 soldiers remain. Currently, they still maintain a presence in Djibouti (1,500 troops) and Gabon (350 troops), though the duration of this presence remains uncertain.
Paris has been attempting to halt the erosion of its influence in former French colonies, but with limited success. Even gestures like “acknowledging past mistakes” have failed to stem the tide. For instance, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot recently visited Chad and Ethiopia, while President Emmanuel Macron, for the first time, acknowledged the French military’s killing of at least 400 West African soldiers in 1944. These soldiers, part of the Tirailleurs Sénégalais unit, had fought for France against Germany. On December 1, 1944, they protested against delayed wages and poor living conditions. French forces brutally suppressed the protest, killing hundreds. This atrocity was largely unknown to the public for decades. In 2012, then-President François Hollande acknowledged the incident but claimed only 35 people died. Macron recently recognized the figure of 400 and described the event as a “massacre.”
Despite such acknowledgments, Chad has terminated its military cooperation with France alongside the closure of its base. This is a significant blow, considering Macron had initially expressed intentions to revitalize partnerships with former French colonies.
After the collapse of its colonial empire, Paris sought to maintain economic, political, and military influence in its former colonies, a strategy termed Françafrique, which included military presence to influence local regimes. However, in recent years, military coups in several Sahel countries and growing anti-French sentiment, including mass street protests, have forced France to retreat.
Since 2022, around 4,300 French troops have collectively been expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. What sets Senegal apart from other “French Africa” countries is that it is the only nation to sever military ties with France under a civilian government rather than a military regime.
Senegal also stands out as one of the African countries most deeply integrated with French interests, potentially making the separation more challenging. Nonetheless, the Senegalese authorities have pledged to stop working with Western creditors and to abandon the CFA franc, a currency used primarily in former French colonies in sub-Saharan Africa, which many see as a symbol of neocolonialism.
Former colonies are now looking to strengthen ties with countries like Russia, China, Turkey, and others. For instance, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have fostered military cooperation with Russia, with representatives from Russian private military companies, such as the former Wagner Group, now present in these countries. Meanwhile, China’s economic influence is growing rapidly across the continent.
Georgy Bovt
Translated from haqqin.az
