The French bases in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon are "
always useful
" and must be maintained in the new French system in the Gulf of Guinea, considers a senatorial report adopted on Wednesday March 8.
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The document emphasizes that " heavy and long
" operations
such as the anti-jihadist operation Barkhane, completed last August, "
are no longer desirable
" but should "
in no way mean an abandonment of efforts to contribute to the development of the region, efforts to influence, to protect nationals
”.
Read alsoIn Africa, the future of French military bases under discussion
A “visible reduction” in the workforce
French President Emmanuel Macron announced at the end of February a "
visible reduction
" in French military personnel on the continent, before making a trip to Africa where he affirmed that this reorganization constituted "neither
a withdrawal nor a disengagement
".
According to the report of the Senate's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, maintaining the prepositioned French bases in the Gulf of Guinea would make it possible to "
carry out heavy operations in an emergency
".
Currently, 1,650 French soldiers are present in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon, according to the general staff, with the particular mission of ensuring the safety of French nationals.
The report mentions some 150,000 French people living south of the Sahara.
The text, co-reported by Senators Bernard Fournier (LR), François Bonneau (UC) and Gisèle Jourda (SER), also advocates a more ambitious "
diplomacy of influence
" in Africa, mentioning in particular "
a global ideological offensive
" of Russia.
Read alsoAfter Mali and Burkina, what rear base for the French army in the Sahel?
"New Partnerships"
The chairman of the commission, Christian Cambon, for his part, considers it "
urgent
" to offer the Gulf countries "
new partnerships
".
Paris announced a year ago that it wanted to discuss with the states of the Gulf of Guinea, threatened by jihadists linked to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group, to develop a new relationship, against a backdrop of major deterioration in the image. of France in Africa.
But no formal agreement has been announced since.
The French army was pushed out of Mali and Burkina Faso by the ruling juntas in these two countries.
France still deploys some 3,000 soldiers in the region, particularly in Niger and Chad, after having counted up to 5,500 men there.
A French military source had told AFP of the friction between the Elysée and the general staff, which pleaded in particular for the preservation of the bases in the gulf.
