The French army persona non grata in Senegal and Chad: where does it keep bases in Africa?

The announcement took all observers by surprise. It came a few hours after a visit by the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Noël Barrot. Chad, the last Sahelian country to host French forces, announced on the evening of Thursday, November 28, that it was ending security and defense agreements with Paris. “The government of the Republic of Chad informs national and international opinion of its decision to terminate the defense cooperation agreement signed with the French Republic”declared Chadian Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah on the ministry's Facebook page.

“France is an essential partner but it must also now consider that Chad has grown, has matured and that Chad is a sovereign state and very jealous of its sovereignty”noted Abderaman Koulamallah a little earlier following a meeting between the Chadian president, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, and Jean-Noël Barrot. In Chad, the decision was “taken after in-depth analysis” and score a “historical turning point”underlined the Chadian Minister of Foreign Affairs in his press release.

This announcement comes as Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye indicated Thursday in an interview with AFP that France would have to close its military bases in Senegal. (new window)also invoking the argument of sovereignty. “Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country and sovereignty does not accommodate the presence of military bases in a sovereign country”declared Bassirou Diomaye Faye in this interview at the presidential palace. The Senegalese president, elected in March on the promise of restoring the sovereignty of his country, assured that it was not an act of “rupture” and defended a “renewed partnership” with the former colonial power and historical ally France. “There will soon be no more French soldiers in Senegal”he said in an interview with Monde (new window).

A significant presence in Djibouti

The dates for the withdrawal of French troops in these two countries have not been specified. In addition to Senegal (around 350 French soldiers) and Chad (around 1000), France currently maintains military bases in three countries on the African continent: Ivory Coast (around 600 soldiers), Gabon (around 350 ) and especially Djibouti. With nearly 1,500 soldiers, the base located in this small country in the Horn of Africa represents the largest contingent of French soldiers on the continent.

At the beginning of the summer, two sources close to the French executive and a military source told AFP that Paris' intention was to keep around a hundred soldiers in Gabon, as many in Senegal and Ivory Coast. as well as some 300 in Chad.

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A report evoking this subject in particular was submitted by Emmanuel Macron's personal envoy to Africa, Jean-Marie Bockel, to the French president, the Élysée announced Monday, November 25. In this document on the reconfiguration of the military system in Africa, Jean-Marie Bockel advocates a partnership “renewed” et “co-constructed”. According to the plan envisaged by the executive before the announcements from Chad and Senegal, which should not be the subject of formal announcements, France was already planning to lower the prepositioned forces it has on its military holdings. On November 6, Jean-Marie Bockel confirmed, during a hearing before the deputies of the Defense Committee, Paris' desire to scale back, but without revealing any figures.

Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali…

Before Senegal and Chad, several states have in recent years forced France to leave its soldiers. Unlike Dakar and N'Djamena, Niger broke with Paris with a bang in 2023, when General Abdourahmane Tchiani came to power following a coup d'état. The last French soldiers left Niger on December 22, 2023. France was present militarily in this Sahel country and the launch of Operation Barkhane in 2014. Paris had up to 1,500 soldiers and airmen on site, particularly in the non-permanent air base in Niamey.

A little earlier, on February 19, 2023, the Burkinabe general staff announced the end of the operations of the Saber special force in Burkina Faso. Made up of 300 and 400 soldiers, this French military unit has been carrying out targeted operations in the Sahel since 2009, as part of the fight against jihadism, from its base in Kamboinsin.

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In Mali, this time, the last French soldiers of Operation Barkhane left the country for Nigeria on August 15, 2022. The objective of the military operation begun nine years earlier in the Sahel was again to fight against the movements terrorists. Paris wanted a gradual departure, against a backdrop of stormy relations with army general Assimi Goïta, at the head of the country. But, in February 2022, the Malian junta asked France to “withdraw without delay” his soldiers of the country. Before this departure, the Gao base was the largest French military base abroad, with around twenty helicopters, more than 400 armored vehicles and 300 heavy vehicles. In total, 2,400 soldiers from Operation Barkhane left Mali after the closure of the Gossi, Gao and Ménaka bases.