By Pierre FirtionPosted on 13-01-2020Modified on 13-01-2020 at 00:43

Postponed due to the attack by Inatès on December 11, the summit devoted to the situation in the Sahel is held this Monday in Pau five weeks after the invitation of Emmanuel Macron to his Sahelian counterparts. After the death at the end of November of 13 French soldiers in Mali, the Élysée awaits from them “a clarification” as to the French presence there, at a time when anti-French sentiment seems more and more diffuse in Mali and in Burkina Faso.

A request for clarification that Emmanuel Macron visibly annoyed by the rise in anti-French sentiment firmly formulates on December 4 to the presidents of the G5 countries: “ I expect them to clarify and formalize their request towards France and the international community. Do they want us there? Do they need us? I want clear and assertive answers on these questions. "

The tone used creates controversy. The invitation addressed to Sahelian presidents to participate in a summit in Pau is quickly perceived by some as a convocation. Burkinabe President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré does not hide his irritation at this way of doing things. " The partnership must be respectful of each other and I believe this is very important, " he said. I think that the tone and the terms used before the invitation are problematic because that is the content of the debates that we must have together. "

Towards appeasement

But the spirits will calm down in the Sahelian chancelleries after Christophe Bigot, the special envoy for the Sahel, has been dispatched to the various capitals. The tribute that Emmanuel Macron comes to pay Niamey on December 22 to the 71 Nigerien soldiers killed in the attack on Inates also helps to calm the rumble. Before that, Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou had pleaded on RFI for a reinforced French intervention in the region: " We need more Barkhane, we need more allies, it is my conviction because those who criticize the French presence or the presence of the allies in the Sahel forget that without Serval intervention Mali would today be under the control of terrorists, perhaps Niger too. So let's imagine that Barkhane goes, it will weaken our struggle, it will weaken our camp. For whose benefit ? For the benefit of terrorists. "

In echo, several other declarations of support for the French intervention will follow on the part of the Malian and Burkinabè authorities. Speeches welcomed today by Paris. In the entourage of President Macron, they say they welcome a " rebalancing of public discourse " and these " fairly robust counterfires ignited by the Sahelian authorities to deal with the anti-French narrative. The clarification sought by Paris therefore seems to be well underway.

" There will be a joint declaration between the heads of state of the G5 Sahel and France to reaffirm the need to continue this fight in common and even to enlarge the forces that should participate in this fight against terrorism," said Kalla. Ankourao, the Nigerian Minister for Foreign Affairs. From everything we've done for 4 weeks, things have been clarified. We now know the decisions we will make in Pau and believe me things will not be as before. The difficulties will be behind us, especially since there are benchmarks, an agenda. There is a dashboard to implement all of this. "

A refocusing of military operations

In addition to reaffirming support for French intervention, this joint declaration will also act on refocusing military operations on specific objectives. In this context, Barkhane should now focus its efforts on the so-called 3-border area, a recurring target of jihadist attacks in recent months. By intervening in a more restricted area, the objective is to obtain more visible results. If the departure of Barkhane is therefore not on the agenda, the question of its maintenance will be studied in 6 months, depending, we explain at the Élysée Palace, of the results obtained on the ground and of respect commitments made by Sahelian presidents.

The French and Sahelian presidents will then dine this Monday evening with Antonio Gutteres, the United Nations Secretary General, as well as with several personalities from the European Union and the African Union. On the menu for discussions: international mobilization on this Sahelian issue at a time when the United States is thinking of disengaging militarily from the region.

    On the same subject

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