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During his year-end speech, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara announced that French troops would leave the country in January, signaling a notable shift in military alliances. This announcement places Ivory Coast among a growing group of African nations reevaluating their military ties with France, whose colonial influence has been a fixture in the region for decades.
“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 organised withdrawal of French forces” from Ivory Coast, Ouattara said Tuesday.
President Ouattara further revealed that the French-controlled 43rd BIMA marine infantry battalion, currently stationed at Port-Bouet in Abidjan, would be formally handed over to the Ivory Coast military in January 2025.
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This transition marks a significant step in the country’s efforts to take full control of its security infrastructure and further distance itself from the legacy of French military presence in the region.
For several years, France has been strategizing a “reorganization” of its military relations across West Africa, a process that gained new urgency following the expulsion of its forces from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
The withdrawal of French troops from these countries came after the rise of governments that expressed open hostility toward their former colonial ruler.
Within hours of each other last month, both Senegal and Chad declared that French military forces would be withdrawing from their territories, signaling a significant shift in the region’s geopolitical landscape.
On December 26, France concluded its military departure from Chad, handing back the final military base it had maintained in the Sahel, making Chad the last country in the region to host French troops.
Ivory Coast remains an important ally of France. About 1,000 French soldiers were deployed to the 43rd BIMA to assist in particular with the fight against jihadists who regularly strike the Sahel region, as well as the north of some countries along the Gulf of Guinea.
Ouattara also said in his year-end speech that the presidential election slated for October 2025, would be “peaceful” as well as “transparent and democratic”. In office since 2010, Ouattara has not yet said whether he will seek a fourth term.