Ivory Coast has announced that French troops will depart the country this month, ending a decades-long military presence and joining a growing list of African nations scaling back military ties with their former colonizer.
In his end-of-year address on Tuesday, President Alassane Ouattara confirmed that the 43rd BIMA marine infantry battalion, stationed at Port-Bouet in Abidjan, would be handed over to the Ivorian military by January 2025. “We can be proud of our army, whose modernization is now effective. It is in this context that we have decided on the concerted and organized withdrawal of French forces from Ivory Coast,” Ouattara stated.
Reports indicate that France currently has nearly 1,000 soldiers in Ivory Coast. The country now joins Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in expelling French troops. In November, Senegal and Chad also announced the departure of French forces within hours of each other. On December 26, France returned its first military base to Chad, the last Sahel nation hosting French troops.
While Ivory Coast remains an important ally of France, the reduction in military ties is part of a broader shift. France, which ended its colonial rule in West Africa in the 1960s, is rethinking its military strategy across the continent. This new approach aims to reduce its permanent troop presence as its influence in the region continues to wane.
Since the end of French colonial rule, the country has been expelled from over 70 percent of the African nations where it once had troops stationed. Today, France’s military presence is limited to Djibouti, with 1,500 soldiers, and Gabon, with 350 personnel.
Analysts view these developments as part of a larger transformation in Africa’s relationship with France, fueled by growing anti-French sentiment, particularly in countries that have experienced coups. After removing French forces, the military leaders of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have increasingly turned to Russia for support.
