The President of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, has announced the imminent exit of over 600 French troops stationed in the country.
President Ouattara said France will hand over the 43rd BIMA marine infantry battalion at Port-Bouet in Abidjan, where French troops are based, to the Ivorian military this January 2025.
He made the pronouncement in his end-of-year address, effectively marking the end of a military cooperation that spans decades.
“We can be proud of our army, whose modernisation is now effective. It is in this context that we have decided on the concerted and organised withdrawal of French forces,” President Ouattara said.
Ivory Coast is following the footsteps of other former French colonies like Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. The countries, which have been under military rule, shut down French military bases and began leaning towards Russia.
Furthermore, anti-French sentiments have continued to spread across West and Central Africa.
In November 2024, Chad and Senegal also announced that they wanted French troops to leave their countries.
Ivory Coast, which has now turned against its former colonial master, has been a strong ally of France in West Africa. Their decision signals the extent to which France has seen its influence dwindle.
According to reports, France’s military will, however, remain only in Djibouti, where it has 1,500 soldiers, and Gabon, with 350, upon the departure from Ivory Coast.
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