With the wave of coups in the former French colonies in Africa, France discovers that it can no longer take its own military role on the continent for granted.
There are growing protests against France's presence in Africa, where it previously used military power.
French troops were recently expelled from Niger and Mali, and others are considering scrapping the independence-era accords that led to at least 30 French direct military interventions between 1964 and 1995.
It was announced that the last contingent of French soldiers is leaving Niger today.
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Why are French troops in Africa?
Since gaining independence, France wanted to "perpetuate and preserve the stability and durability of certain regimes".
The former colonial power considered West Africa and the Sahel "a space of natural deployment and influence," says Dr. Bakari Sambe, director of the Timbuktu Institute.
Professor Bruno Charbonneau, of Canada's Royal Military College Saint-Jean and an expert on peace and conflict intervention in West Africa, agrees.
"The French military presence in Africa has also always allowed this country to be at the heart of conflict resolution and governance mechanisms in French-speaking Africa, especially in the UN Security Council," he says.
Providing military support to friendly African regimes in this way meant that France could project. protects interests and organizes quick armed interventions, he adds.
The French Ministry of Defense states that its primary mission through operations in Gabon is to train soldiers in the region and strengthen their capabilities to fight terrorism, protect land borders and maritime territory.
This includes peacekeeping, intelligence and logistics.
They add that these roles are in line with the Strengthening African Peacekeeping Capacities (Recamp) program, a training initiative launched in the late 1990s involving France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In Senegal, he works to oversee training for all 15 members of the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, plus neighboring Mauritania.
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In which other countries does France have military bases?
Although their numbers have been reduced in recent years, several thousand French soldiers are still deployed in the following countries:
- CAD: Close to 1.000 soldiers, known as the French Forces in Chad (EFT), are tasked with guaranteeing the protection of French interests and nationals. In addition to providing logistical and intelligence support to the Chadian army, they are also part of regional and anti-terrorist initiatives. They have bases in the capital, N'Djamena, Abeshe in the east and a detachment in Faja in the north.
- Djibouti: Home of the largest contingent. There are currently 1.500 soldiers there under contracts since 1977, when the country gained independence, and in 2014.
- Gabon: French forces have been stationed there since independence in 1960, officially renamed the French Elements in Gabon (EFG) in 2014, with 350 troops. According to the French Ministry of Defense, the EFG includes a ground unit based at Camp Charles de Gaulle in the capital Libreville and an air unit at the nearby Guy Pidu Air Base.
- Ivory Coast: Home of French operational control. A forward operating base (FOB) was established there in 2015 as part of a defense partnership between the historically close nations. In the past 13 years, at least 950 soldiers have been deployed as part of Operation Licorne, the French peacekeeping force established after the 2002 civil war.
- Senegal: A contingent of nearly 400 soldiers, known since 2011 as the French Elements of Senegal (EFS), provides regional military training. Based in two camps in the capital, Dakar, the EFS can also use the city's military airport. The force also has a high-frequency radio transmission station near Dakar in Rufisko.
Last month, 1.300-1.500 soldiers deployed to Niger, along with fighter jets and drones involved in counter-terrorist operations, began withdrawing from the three bases at the request of the leaders of the July coup.
Why does France keep to its own "backyard"?
Africa gives France a power on the world stage that it would not otherwise have as a "medium-sized power", says Professor Tony Chafer from the University of Portsmouth in Great Britain.
"In an increasingly multipolar and competitive global environment, France has a primary geopolitical interest in maintaining a military presence in the region," he says.
Being in Africa militarily "plays a key role in justifying France's permanent seat on the United Nations (UN) Security Council."
"France is an 'essential actor' when security issues in West and Central Africa are discussed at the UN or the international community," he adds.
She carefully guarded economic and diplomatic ties with Africa.
African states continue to survive with CFA franc currencies, which are tied to the French treasury and by cultivating close ties with ruling elites.
Professor Chafer says that if France still considers the African continent its own "backyard", it is a product of its colonial history and the way it has negotiated its own exit: "'Pretending to leave so they can dig deeper', as some said.
Why do the protesters want to expel the French troops?
"French armies, go away," sang Ivorian reggae star Alfa Blondi in the late 1990s.
That anthem marked the beginning of a new era of sovereignty.
However, with the rise of Islamist extremism in West Africa, France accepted the request to send more troops.
The first was Operation Serval, an operation in Mali that was launched after jihadists took over the north of the country in 2012.
It was replaced by Operation Barhana, a more regional counter-insurgency mission that ended in November 2022.
Doctor Samba claims that both failed because terrorist groups in the region were multiplying during that time.
"Countries have begun to question the importance of France's strategic presence - ideas and conspiracy theories have developed suggesting that they somehow attract or exacerbate the terrorist threat," he says.
Coupled with calls for "sovereignty" coming from the younger generation, it means many people want to see the back of French troops.
The recent military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where junta leaders decided to expel French soldiers and received public praise in the process, testify to this.
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What are the consequences?
French soldiers withdrew from Mali last year on orders from Bamako, and UN peacekeepers were recently told to do the same.
As they leave, it becomes an important deterrent, even if the security situation has worsened in the last decade, Professor Cefer claims.
Since the withdrawal, human rights violations have worsened and Malians are now even less safe, he says.
The Malian army, meanwhile, has turned to the Russian mercenary group Wagner as a new ally.
Both sides were accused of crimes against humanity.
Professor Chafer believes that Wagner's main role in the country "is not to improve the security of the population, but to support the Malian military regime".
It also appears to have undermined a peace deal with the ethnic Tuareg rebel alliance, which has also begun seizing territory in the north as foreign forces withdraw.
Are there any other security alternatives?
Subcontractors, self-defense militias and paramilitary groups like Wagner are not the answer, says Dr. Samba, also pointing to Mali as an example.
He wants to see the joining forces of ECOWAS, the African Union and other reserve forces on the continent.
"It is time to move towards the Africanization of these forces," he claims.
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