Emmanuel Macron in Africa: what military strategy for France on the continent?

Arthur de Laborde (special correspondent in Libreville), edited by Romain Rouillard 8:11 p.m., March 2, 2023

"Neither a withdrawal nor a disengagement".

This is how French President Emmanuel Macron summed up the attitude that Paris wishes to adopt on the military level vis-à-vis Africa.

"It's about adapting a system so that it is based on a reformulation of needs. And so, we have to redefine needs and adapt our presence," he added.

To do this, the Head of State wants to involve his Minister of the Armed Forces who will have to work, with the Chief of the Defense Staff, on the reorganization of the French military system in Africa in the coming months. 

"You have to be tailor-made"

Sébastien Lecornu must indeed make a clear copy of this transformation on July 14.

"You have to be tailor-made", specifies the person concerned.

Concretely, it is a question of better responding to the expectations of African countries which host French bases, in this case Chad, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon.

For the Minister of the Armed Forces, this articulation will reduce the number of French soldiers permanently present in Africa but will increase the number of soldiers deployed temporarily. 

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"This new strategy will not generate savings. It is not a financial affair but a political and diplomatic one", specifies Sébastien Lecornu, the objective being to improve the damaged image of France on the continent in recent years. .

It is also a question of drawing lessons from the end of Operation Barkhane in the Sahel, which led to the withdrawal of French troops from Mali and Burkina Faso.

These two countries are now controlled by military juntas.