Six weeks after the start of its forced withdrawal from Niger, the French army, already expelled from Mali and Burkina Faso, is still awaiting clear directives on the future of its five other bases on the African continent. A defense council was due to be devoted to France's strategy in Africa on Tuesday, November 14, as revealed by the newsletter Africa Intelligence but was eventually canceled at the last minute to allow the president to travel to flood-stricken northern France.
Against this uncertain backdrop for the French military presence in Africa, more than 1,000 French soldiers have already left Niger. The two forward bases at Ouallam and Tabarey-Barey were completely emptied at the beginning of November, according to the armed forces general staff, and "handed back to the Nigeriens." Officially, only 400 soldiers remain in Niamey, the capital, on the vast base they have long shared with the Americans. While the former are leaving, the latter withdrew further north in September to their base in Agadez.
The remaining French troops are now devoted to managing the logistics of the withdrawal, which has so far mainly taken place in neighboring Chad, 1,700 kilometers away by road. "Most of the French military personnel who have passed through Chad have returned to France," explained Colonel Pierre Gaudillière, spokesman for the general staff, while France maintains around a thousand men in Chad. Despite persistent administrative tensions with the putschists who seized power in Niger on July 26, the armed forces general staff believes it will be able to meet its timetable for a complete withdrawal by the end of the year.
By contrast, the agenda remains vague for the other staff cuts that were once envisaged for bases located in Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Gabon. This decision, approved by the Elysée before the summer after months of negotiations, was eventually frozen following the coup d'état in Niger, several sources confirmed to Le Monde, even if a few discreet staff cuts had already taken place.
Uncertainty has also emerged in recent months about the Djibouti base, which now concentrates the largest French military contingent in Africa – around 1,500 soldiers. Discussions on a revised defense agreement between Paris and Djibouti, which began in May, have still not reached a conclusion, while the Djiboutian authorities have once again raised the price on the annual contribution paid by France to occupy various enclaves on its territory. Under this agreement, Paris is required to pay them €30 million a year. In recent years, however, the small state has been granting tax exemptions to certain imports of military goods, which it wishes to reverse. In 2022, the French contribution amounted to €26.2 million (€25.7 million in 2021).
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