The French army is preparing to reduce its troops on the African continent. According to the first figures circulating, a massive withdrawal of French military troops is even being prepared. The objective: demilitarize the image of France in Africa. According to several sources, the army only keeps around a hundred soldiers in Gabon, compared to 350 today.
Same thing in Senegal. In Ivory Coast, there would also be only a hundred left, the workforce would therefore be divided by six. 300 French soldiers will remain in Chad. There should therefore remain around 600 soldiers in West Africa although the army has not confirmed these figures, an evaluation mission is still underway. LAren’t military bases going to disappear?they will aim to transform into schools, academies, via co-management with each African country.
The French army will therefore be less visible. It may nevertheless send additional personnel from time to time if the host country requests it, in particular for training or the evacuation of French nationals. The only country that has escaped this historic reduction in numbers is Djibouti: it will keep its 1,500 soldiers.
Read more
