Macron continues to lose pieces in Africa. Withdrawal from Mali after involving the Italian military
It was once a lifeline and hope. Today a ballast that risks pulling everything down. There France it is no longer what it once was in Africa. It continues to lose pieces of popularity, of presence, of influence. As well as the United States they left room in AfghanistanFrance is making way for Africa, once its “home garden“in which Paris could continue to feel great power. Now everything is changing.
The red circle to put on the map is the one relating to Mali. In the coming months, France, together with its European partners, will put an end to counter-terrorism operations in the key country of the area Sahel. The confirmation came, announced, following months of diplomatic controversy between Paris and Bamako. “Due to the multiple impediments of the Malian transitional authorities, Canada and the European states operating alongside Operation Barkhane and within the Task Force Takuba they believe that the political, operational and legal conditions to effectively pursue their current military commitment in the fight against terrorism in Mali are no longer satisfied and have therefore decided to initiate the coordinated withdrawal from the Malian territory of the respective military resources dedicated to these operations “, yes law in the declaration signed by 25 states, including Italy.
And to say that France had deployed 4300 soldiers in the Sahel to contribute to the fight against terrorism. However, everything has changed in the past few months. The military coup overturned relations with Paris, giving vent to general discontent. At the height of tensions with Paris, the French ambassador to Bamako was expelled from the country while Denmark was asked to withdraw its troops.
Africa, the erosion of the influence of France
But the French debacle in the area starts from further away. In 2021, the killing of Idriss Déby in Chad it has left its mark on all governments in the area. Déby, a strongman from Chad supported by the French, died last April within hours of the publication of the results of the presidential elections. The Chadian head of state did not survive the injuries sustained by an attack conducted during the advance of the Front pour l’Alternance et la Concorde au Tchad (FACT). A strong blow to France’s reputation as a security agent, despite the fact that Paris undertook in the following months, also with the help of Italy, to hit the jihadist groups present in the quadrilateral Niger-Chad-Mali-Burkina Faso.
Not enough. Now the French retreat risks having repercussions also on Italy, which, moreover, has recently confirmed and even strengthened its military missions in the Sahel. This area is considered crucial, as the repeated visits of key ministers of the Italian government such as Lorenzo Guerini and Luigi Di Maio. It is no coincidence that they have talked for a long time about the Sahel issue Mario Draghi and Emmanuel Macron during yesterday’s meeting.
The report of the Copasir on the subject he explains well the perspective of Italy’s interest in the region: “The Sahel is the area of greatest expansion of Islamic terrorism, the land of conquest of jihadism” and “in recent years Italy has increased its presence” in this part of Africa. Italy, the report continues, has increased its presence “in the context of a multidimensional approach which has focused on intensifying political dialogue, increasing the contribution to security, strengthening state institutions and sustainable development. Proof of this is the strengthening of the Italian diplomatic network in the region and the launch, in 2018, of the first Italian military training and assistance mission in Niger (MISIN), which made it possible to train about 5,000 units of the Nigerian Armed Forces in the fight against terrorism and border control, as well as the recent agreement, signed in Italy, between the government of Mali and groups in the North “.
Italy’s commitment and the unknown for the military in the Sahel
Italy has also opened several embassies in the area, showing the desire for a presence not only military but also diplomatic. The problem, Copasir also acknowledges, is the growing anti-French sentiment pervading the region. “It is also necessary to consider that in this region there is a new leading role of non-Western powers that are taking advantage of difficulties of France, as demonstrated by the emblematic case of Mali, a state considered central to the stabilization of the Sahel. This problematic scenario – in the face of a situation characterized by presence of jihadist groups which operate crossing borders, even exploiting the political crises present in the Sahelian countries – it could in fact cause a domino effect on neighboring states with consequences also on migratory flows and illegal trafficking “.
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