A former minister critical of Françafrique for representing the head of state in Africa. Emmanuel Macron has appointed Jean-Marie Bockel "personal envoy" to the African continent at the same time as Paris plans to significantly reduce its military presence there, according to a letter consulted on Tuesday February 6 by AFP.
The French president entrusted the former Secretary of State for Cooperation under President Nicolas Sarkozy (2007) with the task of "explaining" to partner countries hosting French bases – Senegal, Ivory Coast, Gabon and Chad – " the reasons and modalities of these upcoming adaptations" of the French diplomatic-military system, "while being attentive to their needs" in terms of training, cooperation and equipment, he writes in this letter.
Jean-Marie Bockel will have to submit his recommendations to the Élysée in July.
After a series of coups d'état in Mali (2020, 2021), Burkina Faso (2022) then Niger (2023), the military juntas that came to power in these countries pushed out the French army, marking the end of an era, after a decade of anti-jihadist intervention in a region where the security situation continues to deteriorate.
In his speech in Ouagadougou in 2017, the French president spoke of a change of course for France in Africa, before announcing in February 2023 a profound transformation of relations with the continent, with the aim of putting an end to relations perceived locally as asymmetrical and paternalistic.
Read alsoThe coup d’état in Gabon, a new “test” of French diplomacy in Africa
The disappointments in the Sahel have accelerated the reorganization of France, which intends to significantly reduce its military personnel, except in Djibouti, in favor of a more discreet presence. The outlines of this reorganization were noted during a defense council in December 2023, corroborating sources told AFP.
Former minister Jean-Marie Bockel had to leave his portfolio in March 2008 for having criticized Françafrique, this system of corruption, political co-optation and commercial preserves between Paris and its former African colonies. A former senator, he lost his son Pierre, an officer in the French army, in the collision of two helicopters in Mali in December 2019.
New players like Russia
“The objective is to discuss case by case, with our partners, depending on what we want to do and how we want to do it,” explains a source close to the matter. According to her, France's strategy is to maintain "access to infrastructure, such as ports, and to have logistical points from where it would be possible to deploy in the event of a request from our partners, in exchange for training ".
France currently has a thousand soldiers in Chad, which hosts the command of the French Forces in the Sahel. But this mission effectively disappears with the departure of French troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. All that remains is bilateral cooperation with N'Djamena.
“It makes sense to resize Chad according to what we want to do locally with the Chadians,” argues a source close to the matter.
Discussions are underway, while the Chadian president, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, was received at the end of January by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. A visit which did not go unnoticed as Russia has already taken advantage of French disengagement in several African countries to provide support in defense and security matters in exchange for economic and political influence.
“France is under pressure in the region”
“There is a question of timing: France is under pressure in the region, and in a context of French withdrawal and disengagement, Chad must prepare for any eventuality, for the scenario where France decides to leave Chad,” says Wolfram Lacher, researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
In Senegal, one of the most stable countries in the region so far, the presidential election has just been postponed to December 15 amid great confusion, which will make discussions with France, which has 350 soldiers there, more delicate.
In Ivory Coast, where France has 900 soldiers, elections are planned for 2025.
Finally, in Gabon, where President Ali Bongo Ondimba was overthrown on August 30, 400 French soldiers are already mainly providing training in the sub-region.
With AFP
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