On Monday January 27, Paris called on Washington to maintain its military support for French anti-Jihadist efforts in the Sahel through the voice of Florence Parly. The French Minister of Defense met at the Pentagon with her American counterpart, Mark Esper.

"American support for our operations is of crucial importance and reducing it would seriously limit the effectiveness of our operations against terrorists," she said after the meeting.

Mark Esper, meanwhile, stressed that "no decision has been made yet", during a joint press conference with Florence Parly, carefully avoiding any commitment to Paris.

"My goal is to adjust our military presence in many places," he added, noting that the United States wanted to realign its forces around the world to respond to a threat deemed to be growing from China and Russia. , in a context of "competition between great powers".

"I have been consulting with Ms. Parly for several months (on this subject) and we will continue to do so when we make decisions," he continued.

"I am struggling to prevent the Americans from leaving"

The Chief of the General Staff, General Mark Milley, recently warned that the United States intended to reduce its presence in Africa, just as Paris and its Sahelian partners have just announced increased efforts to try to come to end of jihadist groups, whose attacks are increasing.

>> See: The French army, the last bulwark against the jihadist threat in the Sahel?

An American withdrawal from West Africa would be a major blow for the 4,500 French soldiers of Operation Barkhane, deployed in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Washington indeed provides Barkhane with intelligence and surveillance capabilities, notably through its drones, in-flight refueling and logistics transport, at a cost of $ 45 million per year.

"I am struggling to prevent the Americans from leaving," said the Chief of the Defense Staff, General François Lecointre, last week.

The US military, he added, "agrees that it would make no sense" to disengage as groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State organization increase deadly attacks in the Sahelo-Saharan region.

"There is a real risk of seeing [IS] reconstructing in the Sahel the sanctuary it lost in the Middle East," insists those in the entourage of Florence Parly.

With AFP and Reuters

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