The head of the Senegalese government reacted Monday to a speech by the French head of state to affirm that “no discussion or negotiation took place” between Paris and Dakar on the withdrawal of the French military.
Published on 06/01/2025 23:58
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Emmanuel Macron's speech to the ambassadors caused a quack between Paris and Dakar, Monday January 6, 2025. Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko disputed that the announced withdrawal of French soldiers from his country would have given rise to negotiations between Paris and Dakar , and virulently disagreed with comments by President Emmanuel Macron on French military engagement in Africa.
Ousmane Sonko described on “totally wrong” the assertion according to which the announced departure of a few hundred French soldiers would follow a proposal from France which would have given the countries concerned by a reorganization of the French military presence the first opportunity to announce such withdrawals. “No discussions or negotiations have taken place to date and the decision taken by Senegal stems from its sole will, as a free, independent and sovereign country”writes the Senegalese Prime Minister, whose country has announced in recent weeks the end in 2025 of all French and foreign military presence on national soil.
“We proposed to the African heads of state to reorganize our presence. As we are very polite, we let them have priority over the announcement”declared Emmanuel Macron on Monday during the conference of ambassadors, referring to the French military withdrawal, generally forced, from a certain number of African countries in recent years.
Ousmane Sonko, a great critic of the French presence in his country before his accession to power in 2024, also provided a scathing contradiction to the French president's statements criticizing “ingratefulness” of African leaders who would no longer be at the head of sovereign countries without the deployment of the French army.
“France has neither the capacity nor the legitimacy to ensure Africa's security and sovereignty. On the contrary, it has often contributed to destabilizing certain African countries such as Libya with disastrous consequences noted on stability and security of the Sahel”replied Ousmane Sonko.
