President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that he wanted to end Operation Barkhane with 5,100 soldiers was well received in Paris on Friday.
The chairman of the veterans' association “Solidarité Défense”, Jean-Marie Bockel, welcomed the decision on the radio, which was not hasty.
"The withdrawal has long been expected," said the former war veteran minister, who has lost a son in Mali.
According to recent polls, more than half of the French are convinced that the soldiers in the Sahel region were losing out.
Michaela Wiegel
Political correspondent based in Paris.
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Johannes Leithäuser
Political correspondent in Berlin.
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“Many of our soldiers died.
I think of their families.
We owe them coherence and clarity.
We have to learn the lessons from what didn't work, ”said Macron at his press conference on Thursday evening at the Elysée Palace.
France is therefore looking for a “different format” for its military presence in Mali.
"The continuation of our engagement in the Sahel means the end of Operation Barkhane," he said.
France could not provide political stability instead of sovereign states.
He expressed his anger at the rulers in Bamako, "who do not face their responsibility".
Dangerous precedent
In Mali, Colonel Assimi Goïta had himself confirmed as President by the Constitutional Council.
Macron called the second coup within a year a very dangerous precedent.
Macron emphasized that for him there was no alternative to democratic elections in the West African country.
He categorically ruled out negotiations with jihadist groups.
The federal government assessed the situation after the coup on Friday less critically.
The fact that the new ruler Goïta has confirmed that free elections for parliament should be held next February, as previously intended, is “a first positive step”.
The Foreign Office also stated that Goïta was being asked to form an “inclusive government” that also included opposition forces.
In Berlin, the announcement of the French withdrawal was not expected to have any direct consequences for the Bundeswehr's engagement in Mali.
Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Friday that they would discuss with Paris how to proceed.
The Ministry of Defense stated that it is currently not expected that the French decision will currently have any impact on the security situation.
The Bundeswehr is involved in both the European training mission and the UN MINUSMA mission in Mali.
The first bases are scheduled to close in early 2022
Macron suspended joint military operations with the Malian army a week ago. With the announcement of his withdrawal, he continues to put the military regime under pressure. He wants to negotiate the consequences of the French withdrawal with his European partners, in particular with the German government. When asked, he said that France would continue to stand by the partners. "I don't think the change will mean that our partners will have to reconsider their involvement in the United Nations mission, the EU training mission or the Takuba Task Force," said Macron. He feared no withdrawal of the Bundeswehr.
France has continuously expanded Operation Barkhane since 2014, but the security situation has deteriorated increasingly. Macron's first trip abroad after his inaugural visit to Berlin took him to the main base in Gao in May 2017. Now he wants to go into the presidential election campaign next spring as the one who will bring the soldiers back home. The decision was made in the confidential circle of the Defense Council on Wednesday. In the Elysée Palace it was said that the first bases should close in early 2022. France has eleven bases in the Sahel region, six of them in Mali. By the summer of 2022, Macron wants to bring about 30 percent of the soldiers back home. Half of the Barkhane soldiers should be ordered back by early 2023.
Since the start of the Mali operation in January 2013, 50 soldiers have been killed. Above all, Macron is concerned about the increasing hostility that is being felt against the troops in the former colonies in the Sahel region. The soldiers are perceived as members of a hated occupying power and no longer as peacemakers who had been called into the country. At the same time, he wants to continue to defend French security interests in the area and prevent a new “caliphate” of the terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS) from being established there. The intelligence reports are alarming.
On the sidelines of the G-7 summit, Macron wants to discuss the future military setup with the American president and European partners. Macron emphasized that he saw the future of the French commitment in the context of the so-called Takuba troop, in which "hundreds of French soldiers" should form the backbone. Special forces "fighting terrorism" have priority. The European reaction force in the Sahel region currently includes 600 soldiers, half of whom come from France. Sweden, the Czech Republic and Estonia are also involved. For some years now, France has been urging its European partners to become more involved in the region. There are repeated Islamist attacks in Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. Although these countries form a "G-5 Sahel troop",However, this is considered to be poorly equipped and trained.