Côte d’Ivoire has announced that French troops stationed in the country for decades will depart by January 2025. President Alassane Ouattara confirmed this move on Tuesday, explaining that the French infantry battalion based in Port Bouét will be handed over to Ivorian forces. France has maintained up to 600 soldiers in Côte d’Ivoire, marking one of its few remaining military presences in West Africa.
This development reflects a broader pattern in the region. Several West African nations, including Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, have similarly requested French withdrawals, citing sovereignty concerns and dissatisfaction with France’s military strategies. Even traditionally close partners like Chad and Senegal have recently moved to reduce French troop numbers.
Analysts view these actions as evidence of a structural shift in African engagement with Paris, fueled by local skepticism and national leaders’ emphasis on charting independent security policies. France has been rethinking its Africa strategy and aims to reduce permanent troop levels, yet it continues to face expulsion from more than 70 percent of the African countries where it once had a significant military footprint.
Some military governments, such as those in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, have subsequently aligned more closely with Russia, which dispatches mercenaries across the Sahel. However, security conditions in those countries have not improved. Attacks by armed groups, as well as reported abuses by both militants and state actors, persist. The Ivorian announcement is thus seen as part of a broader regional movement to redefine relationships with former colonial powers.