France is leaving its last two military bases in Senegal. This means there are no more French soldiers in West and Central Africa. In recent years, the French army has already had to leave the other former colonies in this region.
The departure of 350 French soldiers took place with a ceremony. The military base Camp Geille and a military airport near the capital Dakar were handed over to the Senegalese army.
Until 1960, Senegal was a colony of France and remained a loyal ally in the 65 years that followed. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, elected in 2024, wanted to put an end to this. He wants to treat France like any other foreign partner.
In recent years, more African countries have distanced themselves from their former colonizer. The countries want to become completely independent.
Since 2022, the French army has had to leave Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Ivory Coast and Gabon. France still wants to set up a “shared camp” with Gabon that focuses on training, writes the French newspaper Le Parisien.
Last military base in Djibouti
The last French military base is located in Djibouti in East Africa, also a former French colony. Djibouti is the only place in the world with at least eight foreign military bases, including those from the United States, China and Japan.
France colonized large parts of Africa between the end of the nineteenth century and the second half of the twentieth century. After that, French soldiers were often stationed in those countries for decades to maintain order.