'Time to move on': France faces gradual decline of influence in Africa

French forces will begin withdrawing from Ivory Coast starting in January, President Alassane Ouattara said on Tuesday, marking another step in the former colonial power’s military retreat from West Africa. 

In a televised year-end address, Ouattara said the departure was a result of Ivory Coast’s growing military capabilities. 

“We can be proud of our army, whose modernisation is now complete,” he said. “In this context, we have decided on the coordinated and organised withdrawal of French forces.”

The French troops stationed at the 43rd BIMA marine infantry battalion in Abidjan’s Port-Bouet suburb, comprising some 600 soldiers, will hand over the base to Ivorian forces this month, Ouattara added.

A gradual shift

Several of France's former colonies have experienced military coups in recent years, notably two within one year in Mali (August 2020 and May 2021), in Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger in 2023.

French troops withdrew from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in 2022 and 2023 after the military juntas in these countries severed defence agreements with the former colonial power. This was followed by a rise in anti-French sentiment and a pivot towards alternative allies like Russia.

The last French troops left Mali and the Central African Republic in 2022 and Burkina Faso in 2023. France began withdrawing jets and troops from Chad at the end of 2024 after the country's military leader cut military ties. Senegal made a similar request in November, which was formalised in the new year.

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Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye outlined his country’s timeline during a New Year’s address, stating that all foreign troops would leave starting 2025. 

“I have instructed the minister for the armed forces to propose a new doctrine for cooperation in defence and security, involving, among other consequences, the end of all foreign military presences in Senegal from 2025,” Faye said.

Faye, elected in March on a platform of sovereignty and reduced foreign dependence, said that Senegal’s future partnerships would be redefined as a result. 

‘A lot of pressure’

In Mali, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic, the severing of ties with France has been ideologically driven, with nations turning to allies such as Russia and forging connections with the Wagner paramilitary group. In the years since, the UN and Human Rights Watch have warned of an uptick in human rights violations and the abuse of civilians committed by Wagner forces.

By contrast, Ivory Coast and Senegal have pursued a more collaborative approach. In his New Year’s address, Faye emphasised that the withdrawal of foreign forces did not signify a complete break with longstanding partners.

“All of Senegal's friends will be treated like strategic partners, within the framework of open, diversified and uninhibited cooperation,” he said.

Ouattara, considered one of France’s closest allies in the region, has balanced maintaining ties with Paris and responding to growing domestic calls for Ivorian independence.

“There is a big difference between the situation in the Sahel countries, where there were military coups. In Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, these countries turned towards Russia, and they wanted to break their military cooperation with France almost for ideological reasons,” said Paul Melly, Africa programme consulting fellow at Chatham House.

“Whereas the situation in countries such as Ivory Coast, Senegal, Chad to some extent, and also Gabon, where French troops have been based, is quite different. The governments remain broadly friendly towards France, but they also recognise there’s a lot of pressure from public opinion, which feels that times have moved on, and it is no longer appropriate to have substantial numbers of troops from the former colonial power based in those countries,” Melly added.

Strategic adjustments 

As France's influence in Africa has waned in recent years, its military strategy has shifted toward technical assistance and training-focused partnerships.

Jean-Marie Bockel, President Emmanuel Macron’s special envoy to Africa, submitted a report in November on the evolution of France’s military role on the continent. While the report has not been made public, the Elysée Palace stated in a press release that it advocated for a “renewed” and “co-constructed” partnership with African nations. 

“The recommendations are in line with the desire to implement a renewed defence partnership that meets the needs expressed by our partners and is co-constructed with them, while fully respecting their sovereignty,” the presidency added.

Sources told AFP that the report suggested significant reductions in troop levels across French bases in Africa. Over the past decade, France has been forced out of more than 70 percent of the African nations where it previously maintained a military presence. Today, its forces are largely confined to Djibouti, with 1,500 soldiers, and Gabon, with a little over 350 troops.

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“For our partners, what matters tomorrow is not the number of soldiers. There will be the personnel needed to make it work. What matters is the quality of the partnership we are going to build together for the world to come,”  Bockel said in an interview with FRANCE 24.

Regional implications

France's withdrawals have also drawn criticism from African countries. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have accused the French government of attempting to mask its "neocolonial inclinations".

In a joint statement released in late December, the military rulers of these countries described the closure of French bases as "trickery" aimed at "carrying out destabilising actions".

"The French imperialist junta, feeling its interests threatened, supported by certain heads of state in the sub-region, is desperately trying to bring the emancipatory dynamic to a halt," they said.

In comments to the New York Times on Wednesday, a French defence ministry spokesperson said that the withdrawal of troops did not "call into question the excellence of the bilateral military relationship". The spokesperson added, "The cooperation plan between the two armies remains. It is based on mutual trust and the wealth of operational interactions."

Despite the troop withdrawals, France will continue efforts to combat terrorism spreading from the Sahel to West Africa's coastal nations, including Ivory Coast. In 2021, the two countries opened a counter-terrorism academy in Abidjan to enhance regional capacity in the fight against a rising threat from Islamist militants.

As French forces prepare to leave, Ivory Coast and Senegal are the latest in a growing number of African nations that are rethinking relations with France, whose dominance in Africa began to wane in earnest in the early 1960s.

"There’s a recognition both in Paris, but particularly among the African governments, that public opinion has changed," Melly concluded.

"People feel that times must move on."