More African countries in the Sahel region have recently announced plans to reduce their military ties with France as they urgently demanded the withdrawal of French troops to get rid of their colonial influence. On Tuesday, President of Cote d'Ivoire Alassane Ouattara confirmed in his New Year's message that French forces would withdraw from the West African nation in January, marking it the latest to do so. On the same day, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced all foreign military bases in Senegal would close by 2025, setting a definitive timeline for withdrawing foreign forces. In November, Chad declared its intention to terminate its security and defense cooperation agreement with France. Additional withdrawals of French forces will continue until the complete exit by Jan. 31, 2025, Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said in a televised address Tuesday night. The turning back on France by African countries reflects the growing demand for a broader push to erase the vestiges of French colonial influence, analysts said, adding that the motivations behind these moves are rooted in growing dissatisfaction with France's military presence. In 2011, a NATO-led intervention in Libya, spearheaded by France and the United States, toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi. The intervention triggered a decade of unrest in the region, fueling arms trafficking in the Sahel region and contributing to the rise of militant groups, including those affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State. Terrorism began in the Sahel after Gaddafi's fall, said Bella Kamano, a political analyst in Conakry, Guinea. Every country in the Sahel is now grappling with the repercussions of the Libyan war. In response to escalating terrorist threats, France launched Operation Barkhane in 2014, deploying thousands of troops across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. However, the mission ended in 2022 without bringing lasting peace or stability. In recent years, a wave of coups has swept across the Sahel, with military officers often citing security concerns as justification for regime changes. Terrorists continue to attack civilians even in areas where French troops are stationed. What is the purpose of their presence if they cannot ensure security? asked Michael Ndimancho, a Cameroonian academic and civil society advocate. Local populations have also questioned France's motives. Nigerien columnist Abdoulaye Sissoko argued that France's agenda prioritizes maintaining regional dominance and countering emerging global powers rather than combating armed groups. Since the independence of its former colonies in the 1960s, France has retained its influence in West Africa through Francafrique, a policy characterized by economic control, currency linkage, and military presence. Critics contend this neo-colonial dominance has perpetuated poverty in the Sahel region. A report by the Institute for Security Studies describes Francafrique as deeply rooted in financial servitude and military interventionism. Either out of what you might call the 'you broke it, you pay for it' school of postcolonialism, or an enduring ambition to control and profit from its previous possessions, France has hovered like a ghost, the Financial Times said in a report published in August 2023. Observers believe the calls for French troop withdrawals signal a broader desire for genuine sovereignty and equitable partnerships. El Hadj Djitteye, executive director of the Timbuktu Center for Strategic Studies on the Sahel, said that Western nations, including France, have failed to foster mutually beneficial security and economic collaborations. What the continent needs is not European troops but partnerships rooted in mutual benefit, said James Arrey Abangma, a political science professor at the University of Buea. Africa is awakening, and former colonial powers must rethink their approach if they hope to engage with a transformed continent, he said. Despite these setbacks, France appears determined to redefine its role in Africa. According to Le Point, a French magazine, French President Emmanuel Macron's special envoy for Africa, Jean-Marie Bockel, presented a report in November 2024, advocating for a reconfigured military presence and a renewed partnership based on co-creation. Ousmane Balde, a researcher at the Senegalese Center for Advanced Defense and Security Studies, said that France's future in Africa should prioritize economic diplomacy over military dominance, with a focus on equitable partnerships and respect for African sovereignty in bilateral relations.
