France ends military presence in Ivory Coast
France officially withdrew from its only military base in Ivory Coast on Thursday, marking a significant shift in the country’s military presence in West Africa.
France’s Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu attended the official decommissioning ceremony at the base, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Ivory Coast, a former French colony, will continue cooperating with France on the military level, as previously announced by Ivorian Defense Minister Tene Birahima Ouattara.
The Port-Bouet military camp, officially the 43rd BIMA marine infantry battalion's camp located near the former capital of Abidjan, will be renamed after the Ivorian army's first chief of staff, Thomas d'Aquin Ouattara.
France's military presence in Africa has been steadily declining in recent years as several nations in the region, including Chad, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, pushed out the forces of the former colonialist power.
French troops currently remain in Djibouti and Gabon, two countries that have not signaled changes to agreements with Paris on its military presence.
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