27 (EUROPA PRESS)
French President Emmanuel Macron announced this Monday before traveling to Africa that Paris will promote a “reduction” of French military personnel on the continent and a “new partnership” with African countries.
“The transformation will begin in the coming months with a visible reduction of our staff and a rise in power in these bases of our African partners,” Macron said in a long speech published by the Élysée on Twitter and focused on the strategy for the continent. in the coming months.
Macron has affirmed that the model of collaboration with African countries should not be that of military bases. “Tomorrow there will be school bases with French and African staff, who will be able to house other partners”, he said, adding that there will be a greater effort “in terms of training”, according to the newspaper ‘Le Parisien’.
Thus, it has denied that it is a “withdrawal” or a “dissociation” with its former colonies, but that it is “an Africanization”. Macron added that France seeks to build a “new relationship, balanced, reciprocal and responsible”.
With all this, he has reiterated that the objective is to build a “new discourse” on African soil and a “broader” dynamic on the continent. To achieve this, Paris will also promote a bill to restore works of art to countries that request it.
Macron, who will begin an official visit to different African countries from Wednesday, thus assured that France will seek to reduce the narrative that Africa is a continent of “competition” and economic benefits, alluding to Russia and the Wagner group, which maintains mercenaries on African soil.
“It was not the role of our military to give political answers,” he specified regarding the conflict in Mali, warning that what happens in the country can happen elsewhere. His words come after the withdrawal at the request of the Malian authorities of the French forces sent to the country to help Bamako in the fight against jihadism.
