The severance of ties with Chad and Senegal, which have declared the need to withdraw French troops from their territory, is a disaster for the foreign policy of Emmanuel Macron’s France, during the seven years of whose presidency it has lost all influence in Africa, MEP Thierry Mariani said.
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“What happened to Chad is tragic, it’s 50 years of friendship that ended. The same with Senegal. It’s a disaster for our foreign policy, and it’s Macron’s fault. He endlessly showed his contempt for African leaders – the same contempt which he also shows towards the French. When, during his trips, he publicly reads morals to African leaders, one can only have such a relationship. Therefore, the French policy in Africa, which has been built for a long time (by the general. Charles) de Gaulle, (Georges) Pompidou and especially (Jacques) Chirac – there is nothing left of it, at most one or two states remain with whom we maintain relations,” the politician said.
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He noted that during the seven years of Macron’s presidency, “virtually all of our strongholds in Africa have disappeared.” Mariani also recalled an incident that occurred during the Francophone summit that France organized in October.
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Then DRC President Felix Tshisekedi refused a closed-door meeting between the leaders and President Macron and left Paris in protest that Macron, in his speech at the opening of the summit, did not even mention the armed conflict in the east of the DRC, the first French-speaking country in Africa.
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“Macron is engaged in communication, not diplomacy. He has become a kind of illusory influencer who travels around the world and takes photographs when his country is mired in chaos and has lost all international authority,” the MEP said.
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He noted that the problem with France’s expulsion from Africa “is that other countries will take our place.”
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“No one has done as much damage as Macron in the last 40 years. If he wants to do France a favor, he must resign as soon as possible,” Mariani concluded.
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Last week, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomai Faye said the presence of French military bases in his country was incompatible with national sovereignty, demanding the dismantling of French military bases. Later, the Chadian Foreign Ministry announced that the country’s government was terminating the defense cooperation agreement with France. Chadian Foreign Minister Abderamane Koulamalla said in an interview with Monde that Paris must withdraw its military contingent from the country.
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France still had four military bases in Africa. In West Africa, the largest base is located in the capital of Cote d’Ivoire, Abidjan, where 950 troops are stationed.
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Senegal and Gabon each have 350 troops deployed.
About 2.5 thousand soldiers were distributed between Niger (1.5 thousand) and Chad (1 thousand) after the withdrawal of French troops from Mali and Burkina Faso. However, after the demands of the Niger authorities, the French military left the country, some of them were transferred to Chad.
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France’s largest military base is located in Djibouti, the military contingent there reaches 1.7 thousand people.
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At the end of January, the Monde newspaper reported that France would significantly reduce its military contingents in Gabon, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.
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According to the plans cited by the newspaper, the number of French military personnel in the capitals of Gabon, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire could be reduced to hundreds in each of the three cities, while they will mainly perform functions of supporting the national armed forces.
