Resumption of military cooperation with Mali: "Emmanuel Macron finally came to his senses"
Soldiers of the Barkhane force deployed in Mali (photo illustration).
© AFP / File
Text by: Claire Fages Follow
6 mins
France will resume its military cooperation with Mali, announced the French Ministry of the Armed Forces on Friday evening.
A realistic decision, believes Lemine Ould Salem, journalist specializing in the Sahel.
The interruption of this military cooperation, announced less than a month ago by Paris, the day after the second coup d'état in Bamako, presented, according to him, risks of Islamist radicalization in Mali.
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RFI: What do you think of the timing of the resumption of French military cooperation in Mali
?
Why this announcement now?
Lemine Ould Salem:
It should first be remembered that the announcement of the suspension of cooperation with the Malian army, then that of the transformation of [operation] Barkhane was very badly received in the Sahel, but also in Paris. .
It would even seem that the decision to stop cooperation with the Malian army was taken without consultation with the soldiers who have never - it seems - been in favor of this decision.
So the resumption of cooperation with the Malian army, announced on Friday, means in my opinion that Emmanuel Macron has finally come to his senses, being realistic.
How to maintain a presence of the French army in a country with which there is no longer any link?
This decision can only be well received, both in the Sahelian capitals and at the French headquarters.
This military cooperation had been interrupted since the seizure of power by the junta in Bamako ...
Yes, precisely, France had decided to suspend its military cooperation the day after the second putsch.
The first had
overthrown the elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
in Bamako in August 2020, then they [the putschists] had dismissed
a second time
the president designated for the transition and his Prime Minister last May, and this French decision was made in that context.
But this decision was not very well received, both in Bamako and in the sub-region - not only in the Sahelian countries but also in other African countries, including the ECOWAS which had taken note of it but which regretted. That is to say that stopping to cooperate with the Malian army today on the ground would eventually push a part of this army, tempted by the opening of negotiations with the jihadist groups, to make more concessions. , to be much more conciliatory with these jihadist groups.
The extreme scenario for many Malians and Sahelians was that this decision would end up creating a definitive rupture between the French and the Malians, a rupture which could have pushed part of the Malian army, under the pressure of part of the opinion, to ally with jihadist groups.
It was a disaster that many people feared.
How long did this cooperation actually stop? Or has she not had time to stop
?
I don't think the deadlines gave it time to stop, actually. Certainly certain aspects had to be suspended, in particular the continued training of Malian soldiers, etc., but I think that on the ground, the suspension of this operation was very limited. When we also look at the evolution of the situation on the ground on the military level, since the announcement of this suspension, there have been many operations carried out by the French army but also operations carried out by jihadist groups. which no doubt should not have made an effective suspension of cooperation easy.
Does this mean that the resumption of French cooperation is taking place because France has received pledges from the Malian authorities, in particular on the attitude to be taken towards jihadist groups
?
The resumption of cooperation between the armies of the two countries undoubtedly took place following frank and certainly very thorough discussions between Paris and Bamako, it is obvious.
But on what did France have guarantees? Has she had guarantees, for example, from Colonel Goïta, that is to say the current head of state, president of the transition in Mali, that in the event of the opening of negotiations? with the jihadist groups, there would be red lines on which he would not give in, in particular the secularism of the state in Mali and the inspiration of the legislative system? Not to give in in particular on a jihadist demand, and beyond the conservative Islamist Malian current, on the introduction of a device inspired by the Sharia in the penal law and the Malian civil law, etc. It is not excluded that there were negotiations on these aspects.
The resumption of French cooperation in Mali comes at a time when the French operation Barkhane in the Sahel will be interrupted. What does this imply for Mali
?
We need to clarify things.
Barkhane's final shutdown does not mean a withdrawal of the French army from Mali or the Sahel.
This is a readjustment of the device.
It was predictable, insofar as the Barkhane intervention, which followed Operation Serval from 2014, did not lead to the result everyone hoped for.
The time to reflect and change the device had arrived.
The Malians, the Sahelians and the French all agreed on this.
So this is not a withdrawal of the French army, it is a modification of the device to better adapt it to the current context.
Yes, Barkhane will disappear, but will give way to another device which will be based primarily on the European Task Force “Takouba”, which itself will be primarily based on the French army and its contingents.
This resumption of cooperation today could also be justified on the French side by saying to
ourselves
: “
We are embarking on a new device, and why not try to see with our Malian friends how we can work together?
I think that the change of device could have pushed Macron to listen to the soldiers who did not agree at all on the suspension of military cooperation with the Malian army.
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