There is no longer any doubt that France is in difficulty in Africa, particularly in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
In such a context, it has redefined its policy in this region of the globe.
Thus, Paris has just appointed General Pascal Ianni to the post of director of the Africa Command.
His name was published on Wednesday June 26 in the Official Journal. Like the United States and Africom set up in 2008, the general staff of the French armies now has a specific direction for the African continent.
The Official Journal dated Wednesday, June 26 stipulates that “Brigadier General Pascal Ianni (is) appointed commanding general of the Africa Command” from August 1.
This unprecedented creation in France of an Africa Command comes at a time when France is going through a bad patch in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
This appointment also comes in a context where Paris plans to reduce its military presence in West and Central Africa to a few hundred men, within the framework of “renovated” and more discreet partnerships.
More than a hundred men in Gabon or Ivory Coast
So is the redeployment of French forces in West and Central Africa the reason for this creation? This is indeed the primary reason, because until now the French elements in Chad, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Gabon each had a joint staff.
However, this permanent military presence is no longer in the air. The French contingent in Africa must, in the near future, be reduced to a bare minimum. In Ivory Coast, where there are still 600 men, there are only about a hundred left. The same thing in Gabon or Senegal, according to the plan envisaged by the executive, revealed to AFP by three concordant sources and currently being discussed with African partners.
The concern for discretion is indeed the first desired effect. Informational attacks have made the French army radioactive. To change the situation, the army general staff wants to “reduce visibility and footprint”: very logically, this Africa Command will therefore be based in Paris.
But the objectives remain unchanged. This Command will be responsible for organizing support for partner countries in the fight against terrorism and the expansion of trafficking, the training of regional armies, and the access strategy. The system should thus have around 600 soldiers in the future, even if the French military personnel will evolve according to needs and missions, but always in close collaboration with the host countries.
Two years ago, in addition to some 1,600 forces pre-positioned in West Africa and Gabon, France had more than 5,000 soldiers in the Sahel as part of the anti-jihadist operation Barkhane, before being gradually pushed out by the juntas that came to power in Bamako (2021-2022), Ouagadougou and Niamey (2023).
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