France is no longer a military power in Africa. This terse observation is necessary after the announcement on Tuesday by the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, of the handover of the Port-Bouët base located in Abidjan. This decision is similar to those taken by Chad and Senegal last November. It comes in addition to the cessation of French military operations in the Sahel in 2022-2023, under pressure from the juntas in power in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. These bases had become the marker of a dependence now rejected. There will soon be only two left: one in Gabon – for how long? –, the other in Djibouti, whose contract was renewed in July 2024. But its mission is primarily focused on the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
For the French army, a slice of history is coming to an end, going back to the colonial era and various epics of the Second World War. Part of the institution experiences this withdrawal with bitterness, assumed on the other hand by the high command. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it has considered it a priority to prepare for a high-intensity conflict in Europe and to counter the hybrid wars taking place in cyberspace and in the information field. .
However, relations between France and Africa are not limited to the field of defense. They also involve diplomacy, cooperation, commercial exchanges, human links forged by diasporas… The European and African continents are geographically intertwined and closely linked to address the major contemporary challenges: climate change, migration, competition from large powers, the reduction of North-South inequalities… It is impossible to turn our backs on each other. On the contrary, we must build the future together.
France
