In Mali and in the Sahel region as a whole, France plays somewhat of the role that the United States played in Afghanistan: the country is the backbone of Western military engagement.
Therefore, Macron's decision to end Operation Barkhane will not make the other international operations in Mali any easier.
The UN and EU missions, in which the Bundeswehr is involved, will probably have to operate in an even more unstable environment in the future if France gives up the fight against jihadists on the previous scale.
It is time for electoral Germany to take another serious look at the difficult situation in this operational area.
Reduction to the European core interest
Macron's decision seems hasty, similar to the French withdrawal from Afghanistan nine years ago.
But he is following an insight that is gaining ground in more and more western capitals: You cannot ensure political stability instead of sovereign states, says Macron, drawing a lesson from the many failed interventions of recent years.
Indeed, it is not only in Mali that the question arises as to whether the transformational goals of the great peace operations were ever realistic.
Macron now prefers to send special forces to fight terrorism.
This reduces the commitment to the European core interest and is likely to meet with more acceptance in France than the previous, less successful operation.