By RFIPosted on 04-12-2019Modified on 04-12-2019 at 23:36

Emmanuel Macron announced that he invited the presidents of the five countries of the region on December 16th to Pau in the south of France. Objective: that they clarify their position on the French presence on the spot and at a time when anti-French sentiment is growing in several Sahelian countries.

This is a statement by the French president regarding the French presence in the Sahel which did not go unnoticed at the end of the NATO summit this afternoon in London.

" I expect them to clarify and formalize their demand for France and the international community. Do they wish our presence ? Do they need us ? I want clear and confident answers to these questions. "

Nine days after the death of 13 French soldiers in Mali , it is a message of a rare firmness that passed Wednesday afternoon Emmanuel Macron to his Sahelian counterparts. From London, the French president has called for each of them to clarify his position regarding the French presence on the spot. At a time when anti-French sentiment is progressing, a feeling sometimes borne, said Emmanuel Macron, by politicians ...

" They owe us the clarity and the fact that they ask us to be there, and that they assume it. Because France is not there with imperialist neo-colonial aims or economic ends. We are here for the collective security of the region and ours. This framework must be clear and assumed by everyone. For the moment, that's not enough. "

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A speech in the form of reframing to destination especially Bamako and Ouagadougou. " The indispensable political work that needs to be done to ensure that the military and development work we are conducting can truly be beneficial, this political work, we can not do for them. It is their full responsibility, especially with regard to Mali and Burkina Faso. "

I can not and do not want to have French soldiers on any Sahelian soil whatsoever, even though the ambiguity persists with regard to the anti-French movement, sometimes carried by politicians. I need clarity.

E. Macron invites the five Sahelian presidents to a clarification about the French presence

04-12-2019 - By Pierre Firtion

The question of maintaining Barkhane could then arise? " I am not at the time of the threat, but I say that I will draw the consequences if these conditions are not met. "

What conclusions could he draw then? That's the whole question. Emmanuel Macron has always defended the need for such an intervention. Wednesday afternoon, the French president also announced in parallel his intention to " organize a stronger and more structured presence " of France in the region.

→ Read also: Defense: what options for the Barkhane force in the Sahel?

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