Ahead of a trip to Africa, French President Emmanuel Macron has outlined
plans for a "noticeable reduction" in France's troop presence on the
continent. France also intends to co-run African bases with African
countries.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France will reorganize its military bases on the continent, during a speech ahead of a tour of African countries.
He specified that France would not close its bases, but that they
would be "Africanized" and turned into "academies" or bases co-run by
French and African armies. The announcement comes on the heels of
souring ties between France and several African nations.
What did Macron say?
"The bases as they exist now are a heritage from the past," Macron said in an address on Monday evening.
"The change will happen in the coming months with a noticeable
reduction of our numbers and a greater presence in these bases of our
African partners," Macron said. This "reorganization ... does not intend
to be a withdrawal," he added.
The French president said there would be a notable fall in French
military personnel but an increase in an effort to provide training and
equipment.
The bases would also see a "rise in the presence of their African
partners according to goals defined" by these partners, he said
Wagner Group 'preying' on resources, says Macron
The French president described the Russian mercenary Wagner Group as the "life insurance of failing regimes in Africa," saying it contains "criminal mercenaries."
The Wagner Group is already active in Mali and the Central African
Republic; reports also suggest the group is now looking to get a
foothold in Burkina Faso, which Russia denies.
Macron said African nations would eventually stop turning to the
mercenary group, nothing that they are "preying on mines, raw
materials."
Macron heads off on a four-nation tour of central African countries
starting on Wednesday as Paris seeks to counter growing Chinese and
Russian influence on the continent.
https://www.dw.com/en/france-will-reorganize-military-bases-in-africa-says-macron/a-64836040?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
