INVESTIGATION – Two years after the end of Operation Barkhane, which had crystallized criticism, Chad and Senegal requested the withdrawal of French troops on their soil.
In these first days of February 2013, everything is going well. Relations between France and Africa, this « Françafrique » which have already been said to be moribund for ages, are at the top. François Hollande parades as a winner in the streets of Timbuktu. Two weeks earlier, the paratroopers launched an operation at the airport of the famous city in northern Mali, recalling the heyday of the French army in Africa.
The coup was a success, the jihadists linked to al-Qaeda fled. At the foot of the Sankoré mosque, the French president waxes lyrical. He greets the « exceptional mission », « the admirable feats » of its soldiers. In fact, the small crowd of Malians present that day was not left out. They say « thank you Papa Hollande »he says « Hollande the Savior »the « 334e saint of the city of 333 Saints ».
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Launched at the beginning of January, Operation Serval is, it is true, a success. The Islamist militias which since March 2012 had occupied northern Mali, and the cities of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu, were driven out. The French offensive provokes…
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