Is Frankfurt ending? Why did Senegal sever its military relations with France? Politics news

In Senegal, a country full of French-owned companies and French citizens, President Basserou Diomaye Faye’s recent announcement that France should close its military bases should have come as a surprise. However, analysts say the move was always going to come.

In November, Fay asked Paris to withdraw some 350 French soldiers stationed on Senegalese soil, effectively ending a decades-old defense agreement and continuing a trend that has seen several West African countries sever or downgrade once-strong ties with France. Former colonizer in Senegal. Recent years.

In an interview with Agence France-Presse, the Senegalese President – who was… He was elected earlier this year Against the backdrop of a nationalist campaign that promised to review Dakar’s relations with Paris – he said that the continued French military presence in the country was incompatible with Senegal’s sovereignty.

Speaking from the presidential palace in Dakar, Faye said: “Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and its sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country.” Fay did not set a final date for when the soldiers would need to leave.

The move came as Senegal marked the 80th anniversary of the mass killings of West African soldiers by colonial forces on the morning of December 1, 1944. The men, West African soldiers from the Tirailleurs Argentinais unit who fought in France’s war against Nazi Germany, had They were protesting against delayed salaries and poor living conditions when colonial soldiers opened fire on them.

Although the two countries have had friendly relations since Senegal’s independence, the killings have always been a wound about which France remained silent until 2012. French authorities tried to bury the evidence and claimed that 35 people were killed, although scholars estimate that 400 people died.

Then-President François Hollande admitted France’s responsibility in 2012. However, this year, President Emmanuel Macron admitted, in a letter to President Fay, that France had committed a “massacre.”

Beverly Ochieng, a Dakar-based researcher at intelligence firm Control Risks, told Al Jazeera that Senegal’s government cutting military ties on the anniversary of the massacre is in line with election promises made by Fay and the prime minister. Ousmane Sonko – He is an outspoken critic of France.

“Senegal is going through a lot of reforms under the two leaders, and they are really questioning how much stake they have in their country,” Ochieng said.

“As for Faye, he just doesn’t want France to take up space in military bases when Senegal can’t do the same.”

From Senegal to Chad, Francafrique disappears

Growing anti-French sentiment in former French colonies left France vulnerable to diplomatic blows throughout the West and Central Africa region with Francafrique’s once-dominant sphere of influence shrinking.

Many governments and citizens, especially in the military-led Sahel countries, dislike real and perceived political interference by France in their countries. They view France as paternalistic due to its deep involvement in sectors such as mining and its inability to decisively stop the spread of armed groups, despite the presence of thousands of French soldiers stationed in the region.

The ruling military groups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger expelled about 4,300 French soldiers from their countries in 2022, after France refused to support the coups that brought them to power, with thousands of citizens mobilizing to support them. Those countries have since turned to Russian mercenaries to help fight a range of armed groups seeking to control territory in the troubled region.

On November 29, the same day that Faye called on French forces to leave Senegal, the central African nation of Chad also severed military ties with France, ending a defense pact that had been in place since 1960, and sending Paris into a tailspin. . The withdrawal began this week with the departure of two fighter planes from N’Djamena.

Chad, which is located in a “sweet spot” for observation near the war-torn Sahel, Sudan and Libya, is the last remaining ally of Western governments in the Sahel. It was also the only rebellion supported by France after President Mohamed Déby took power by force in 2021.

However, experts say multiple reasons prompted N’Djamena to withdraw this time, including reports that France withheld intelligence that led to the killing of 40 Chadian soldiers by the Boko Haram armed group in October.

Despite Teranga’s painful relationship

What distinguishes Senegal from the rest of the batch is that it is the only country that severed its relations with France as there is no military government in power. Senegal is also one of the African countries where France has become more integrated, making a final divorce more difficult, experts say.

In sunny coastal Dakar, where the culture of “teranga” (or hospitality) attracts and welcomes international expatriates, the French presence is unmistakable, and French nationals mingle freely with locals at restaurants, markets and events. Petrol stations, kiosks belonging to the telecommunications company Orange and Auchan supermarkets dot the city and represent about 25 percent of Senegal’s gross domestic product, according to the French Foreign Ministry.

However, analysts say the spread of anti-France anger from neighboring Sahel countries, and the rise of young, new-age politicians like Sonko, who in the past has made inflammatory statements against France and Senegalese leaders seen as sympathetic to Paris, have exacerbated the situation. People in Senegal became hostile.

Protesters in 2023 targeted French businesses, looted and burned stores after Sonko, who was opposition leader at the time, was arrested on rape charges by the government of former President Macky Sall. Sonko, who said the charges were politically motivated, was acquitted of rape but jailed for “corrupting the youth,” stripping him of his eligibility to run for president, prompting his colleague Faye to stand in his place.

During their election campaign in February, the duo promised more transparency and said they would review extractive contracts with Western-owned companies, including French and other European companies.

They also pledged that Senegal would not work with Western lenders and would stop using the CFA franc, the currency used by 14 former French colonies in sub-Saharan Africa and seen as the most visible symbol of French neo-colonialism. But analysts say that sounds better said than done.

Omar Ba, a professor of international politics at Cornell University, told Al Jazeera: “They have quietly let the issue of the financial framework agreement die down, and there is no longer a renegotiation of extractive contracts with foreign companies that they promised.”

Ba noted that they also continued to work with lenders such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as the economy slowed this year.

He said: “I believe that evoking the low-hanging fruits of the French military presence only contributes to keeping the symbolic sovereignty discourse alive.”

Some analysts say Fai is likely to push for the “eco” – a proposed common currency for West Africa that is under development.

New relationship

France’s deteriorating relations with its former African allies, including Senegal, have led it to rethink its alliances in the region by downgrading its already crumbling military architecture to focus on other sectors such as business.

Earlier this year, Paris pledged to reduce the number of its forces from 350 to 100 in Senegal and Gabon, and from 600 to 100 in Ivory Coast. Before Chad expelled French forces in November, Paris planned to reduce its numbers from 1,000 to 300.

Instead, France is focusing on economic ties and engaging more African countries outside its traditional sphere of influence. In November, President Macron welcomed Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Elysee Palace and even spoke in Nigerian colloquial English in his welcome speech.

“They need new friends and they need strong friends,” Ochieng said. “If they can get a giant like Nigeria, they can still survive,” she added. Important West African economies such as Ivory Coast, Gabon and Benin remain friendly to Paris.

As for Senegal, President Faye hinted that the very close ties it previously had with France would also remain more in the business sphere, explaining that cutting military ties does not mean an end to trade.

“France remains an important partner for Senegal,” he told reporters. “Today, China is our largest trading partner in terms of investment and trade. Does China have a military presence in Senegal? No. Does this mean our relations are broken? No,” he said.

However, the president also wants reparations for the murders committed by Thiaroi. In addition to France closing its military bases, Fay said he would demand a formal apology from France. Such an apology would require France to make reparations, which could translate into financial compensation for the families of the victims.

Prime Minister Sonko has long demanded compensation for the killings. In June, as France celebrated its liberation from Nazi Germany, he criticized Paris’s move to officially recognize six dead West African soldiers with the honor of “Died for France,” a title given to people who died in the country’s service. It is unclear why six were chosen.

“(France) does not have the right to unilaterally decide how many Africans were betrayed and killed after helping to rescue it, nor the type and extent of recognition and compensation they deserve,” Sonko wrote on Facebook. Chairman of the ruling PASTEF party, not head of government.