Mali: Paris is thinking about after Barkhane in the Sahel, Bamako is looking for new partners

The Barkhane force was formed in the wake of Operation Serval implemented in Mali in 2013. AP - Christophe Petit Tesson

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On the eve of the opening of the European Union-African Union summit in Brussels, Emmanuel Macron met this Wednesday evening at the Elysee Palace with African and European partners to discuss the situation in the Sahel and the withdrawal of French troops from Mali.

With a stated ambition: to find concerted and collective solutions.

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The objective of the Élysée is to avoid at all costs reducing the announcement of the withdrawal of French forces in Mali to a consequence of the crisis between Paris and Bamako.

" 

 ," explained Gabriel Attal, the government spokesman.

In the entourage of Emmanuel Macron, interviewed by our journalist from the political service

, when we mention the dinner which must be organized at the Élysée, it is to explain that it must allow "

 ".

A way out of the bilateral framework.

It is a question of reviewing "

 in the Sahel on the basis of an observation shared by all the actors: by backing up the Wagner force, a private Russian " 

 ", the junta in power in Mali has chosen a " 

 ", not only with France, they say at the Élysée, but with all the African and European partners.

How to continue the European commitment in the Sahel to fight against terrorism?

It is to this question that Emmanuel Macron hopes to find consensual answers so as not to give the impression of taking a unilateral decision under pressure, the consequences of which would be negative both for Africans and on the national scene. two months before the presidential election.

The Task Force Takuba model

The decision to leave Mali or not will be European and therefore collective, we keep repeating in the entourage of the French president.

It is therefore out of the question to announce a withdrawal before receiving all the partners. 

So there were many guests at this dinner in the form of a mini-summit: officials from Sahelian countries, those from the Gulf of Guinea, representatives of European countries participating in various missions in the country.

But also Macky Sall, the current president of the African Union, Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, Urusula Von der Leyen, the president of the European commission as well as American and British officials. 

However, the decision is no longer in doubt.

Barkhane will most certainly leave Mali, as will the European Task Force Takuba, made up of 800 soldiers from around fifteen countries.

" 

 ", we also concede at the Elysée.

Despite this looming departure, the Europeans have " 

 " to remain committed to the Sahel, it is explained in Emmanuel Macron's entourage, because "

”.

An idea seems to be gaining ground.

That of duplicating the concept of a European task force in other countries, as Takuba is today.

According to Paris, Niger would thus be interested.

“

 ”, explains an adviser to the French president who adds: “

 ”.

The Malian transition in search of all-round partners

Meanwhile, the head of Malian diplomacy has just completed a diplomatic tour, according to our journalist

.

Abdoulaye Diop returned Tuesday morning from Tehran, Iran.

On Saturday, he was in Qatar.

Objective: to forge new alliances while relations between Mali and its traditional partners are becoming more strained every day.

In Qatar, Abdoulaye Diop has been promised funding for the construction of a hospital, according to the only information provided by the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In Iran, the transitional Minister of Foreign Affairs obtained a strengthening of cooperation between the two countries, particularly in industry, finance and the transfer of technological skills.

A roadmap will be drawn up to set priorities “

 ”.

If the Malian state says it is systematically open to "

" with its traditional Western partners, signs of hostility have multiplied in recent weeks - expulsion of the French ambassador, the Danish contingent of Takuba... -, always in the name of national sovereignty.

While France and the European Union must specify the form of their future commitment to Mali,

has already formalized the partial suspension of its development aid.

At the end of January, it was the Turkish ambassador to Mali who was received by the transitional Prime Minister Choguel Maïga, to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, particularly in terms of security.

The transport and economic sectors are also mentioned.

As for the Chinese ambassador, he was received on Tuesday by the director of the Malian police to talk about strengthening training against terrorism or trafficking.

Last week, the education sector was at the heart of a meeting between the Chinese ambassador and the Malian Ministry of National Education. 

After Russia, a historical ally of Mali but whose weight has more than increased in recent months, mainly on the military level, the Malian transitional authorities are therefore actively pursuing the development of their new international partnerships.

The epilogue of a long quarrel between Paris and Bamako

The almost recorded end of Operation Barkhane thus marks the culmination of a quarrel between Paris and Bamako which has lasted for months.

Since the military coup of August 18, 2020, nothing has gone right between Paris and Bamako. 

Long before that, Malian public opinion denounced the inefficiency of the anti-terrorist operation Barkhane.

A feeling that grows with the change of regime.

The operational transformation and the closure of three bases in the north of the country then crystallized tensions between Paris and Bamako.

Last September, before the UN General Assembly, the Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokala Maïga denounced “ 

 ”.

But it is the discussions between Bamako and the Russian private security group Wagner, which ignite the powder.

Although the Malian authorities still deny having contracted these mercenaries,

causes a real diplomatic storm.

Paris and Bamako are waging war through media declarations, and the French ambassador to Mali finds himself expelled.

Meanwhile, things are changing operationally.

Bamako asks to review its defense agreements with Paris.

Mali also prevents

.

So many elements that made the spokesperson for the French government say last night that in this degraded context, the “ 

”.

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• mali

• G5 Sahel

• France