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FRANCE

As presidential election nears, Macron worries of risk of politicising Operation Barkhane

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“The Sahel threatened by a jihadist tornado”

SAHEL

The Sahel threatened by a jihadist tornado

As the Sahel security crisis worsens, with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) increasingly active, the states in the region find themselves in an ever more vulnerable position. In an attempt to stem the flow of jihadist propaganda which now risks overflowing into the coastal states, a number of security operations have been launched, among them Operation Barkhane, the G5 Sahel joint force, MINUSMA, and the Coalition for the Sahel. [...]

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) and Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (C-R) visit the troops of France's Barkhane counter-terrorism operation in Sahel region in Gao, northern Mali, 19 May 2017. © MAXPPP

With just over a year to go before the presidential election, and in light of the events of recent weeks, the French public is starting to take more notice of the country's military presence in the Sahel region. This is not exactly what Macron and his entourage had hoped for as the operation begins to face scrutiny from both the opposition and the majority. [...] (1674 words)

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Politics

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Adrien Quatennens
Barkhane
Bastien Lachaud
Centre de planification et de conduite des opérations
Christophe Bigot
Direction Afrique et océan Indien
Europe écologie-Les Verts
FAMa
François Lecointre
G5 Sahel
G7
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
International Coalition for the Sahel
Jacques Maire
Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Jean-Yves le Drian
La France Insoumise
La République en marche
Les Républicains
Marc Conruyt
Mathilde Panot
Moctar Ouane
Nicolas Sarkozy
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Obliquum
Parti socialiste
Partnership for Security and Stability in the Sahel
Pascal Facon
Pierre de Villiers
Rassemblement national
Takuba
Thierry Burkhard
Thomas Gassiloud
Yves Calvi

Macron and Putin play game of bluff over Wagner in Mali

As negotiations between the Malian junta and Wagner step up a notch, Paris is making last-ditch efforts to prevent the arrival of Russian paramilitaries in Bamako. Emmanuel Macron gave Vladimir Putin a stern warning during a phone call last month. [...]

Emmanuel Macron receives Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, at the Palace of Versailles. © Julien Mattia/Le Pictorium/MaxPPP

EUROPEAN UNION MALI FRANCE Diplomacy 18/10/2021

Paris secretly prepared to slap sanctions on military junta

As relations between Bamako and Paris continue to sour, France wants the EU to slap sanctions on several Malian officials seen to be rocking the boat ahead of next year's presidential poll. Meanwhile, ECOWAS is considering similar punitive measures. [...]

AFRICA Diplomacy 17/08/2021

EU to ramp up influence strategy in face of Russian activism

As Russian influence continues to grow in Africa, the European Union is looking at ways to develop new "counterinfluence" tools. [...]

SAHEL Defence Business 25/06/2021

Brussels finances Spanish Uro armoured vehicles for Sahel's gendarmes

With Paris having recently announced the progressive withdrawal of French troops deployed with Operation Barkhane in the Sahel, the European Union is for its part continuing to support the security forces of the region. [...]

SAHEL PORTUGAL Diplomacy 10/06/2021

Lisbon's inner circle of Sahel strategists

With Portugal considering greater engagement with the Sahel, responsibility for this vast region is in the hands of a select few based in Lisbon and Dakar. [...]

MALI Diplomacy 02/06/2021

Paris worried EU partners' commitment could wane after Goita's show of force

For the past two years, France has been pushing for greater engagement from its fellow European Union members in the Sahel region but could see these efforts scuppered by transitional president Bah N'Daw's forced resignation on 25 May. [...]

SAHEL Defence Diplomacy 21/05/2021

Delay in appointment of new French army chief has domino effect on Barkhane

Though General Pierre Schill seemed to be the frontrunner to succeed Marc Conruyt at the helm of France's Operation Barkhane in the Sahel, it now looks like the post could go to one of his three-star colleagues. [...]

BURKINA FASO Politics 14/04/2021

Opposition leader Eddie Komboïgo goes on Paris charm offensive

Burkina Faso's opposition leader Eddie Komboïgo travelled to Paris in early April to meet with French officials, journalists, and parliamentarians. [...]

Burkinabe opposition leader Eddie Komboïgo. © Reuters

SAHEL Diplomacy 10/03/2021

Prague and Rome jockey for EU Sahel envoy post

The Czech Repubic is lobbying in Brussels to get a Czech diplomat appointed as the European Union's next Special Representative for the Sahel. [...]

SAHEL Politics 26/02/2021

Air Sahel inches along runway but remains far from take-off

Air Sahel, a five-nation project born in 2015, is not going to get into the air any time soon. A new report notably does not call for its imminent launch but instead proposes open-sky measures in G5 states to help existing airlines. [...]

MALI Defence Diplomacy 22/02/2021

EU frets about fraud as Bamako stocks up on military gear

The EU, worried that the latest military aid to Mali might be misappropriated, may take initatives to encourage Bamako to keep its promises on traceability. [...]

AFRICA Politics 05/02/2021

Macron's LREM party faces difficult election choices in African constituencies

The two constituencies representing French expatriates in Africa have awakened appetites in President Emmanuel Macron's LREM party. The outgoing deputies, M'jid el-Guerrab and Amélia Lakrafi, are already working hard to keep their seats. [...]

SAHEL FRANCE Defence Diplomacy 15/01/2021

France's secret plans for Sahel military withdrawal

Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce a small troop decrease in February, while behind the scenes there are several withdrawal options at play, some that would have France's Barkhane force halved by the end of 2021. [...]

French President Emmanuel Macron visiting Gao, northern Mali. © Christophe Petit Tesson/Pool/Abacapress.com

UNITED KINGDOM SAHEL Diplomacy 12/01/2021

Brexit, troubled economy won't stop UK aid to the Sahel

As the UK continues to grapple with the economic criris triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and the fallout of its exit from the EU, the Foreign Office chose to maintain its financial support to Sahel region aid. [...]

WEST AFRICA Defence Politics 23/12/2020

Expertise France wants to block Gulf of Guinea's cocaine highway

The French development agency (AFD)'s technical cooperation arm, Expertise France, is keen to run the EU-funded €5m Gulf of Guinea security project called Seaport Cooperation. [...]

SAHEL Diplomacy 23/12/2020

Who will lead the Coalition for the Sahel?

There is every chance it will be a Chadian diplomat at the helm of the Coalition for the Sahel as it prepares to relocate from Paris to Brussels after its launch in January at the G5 Sahel summit in Pau. [...]

FRANCE Diplomacy 15/12/2020

Mélenchon, eyeing French presidency, plans to attack Macron on his African flank

Jean-Luc Mélenchon is increasingly using Emmanuel Macron's policies on Africa to attack the centrist leader as the clock ticks down to France's 2022 presidential election, in which the far-left firebrand has already declared himself a candidate. [...]

La France Insoumise leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon. © Vincent Isore/IP3 PRESS/MAXPPP

MALI Defence Business 11/12/2020

TR Equipement supplies new Aeraccess drones to Malian army

TR Equipement recently supplied Aeraccess observation drones to the Malian armed forces and is also working with Dronengel to train local personnel, thereby promoting a trio of French security firms on the back of Malian funding. [...]

A Hawker Q800x observation drone. © TR Equipement

The US president-elect Joe Biden and the future secretary of state, Antony Blinken. © Reuters

Spotlight

UNITED STATES Diplomacy 01/12/2020

Will Biden end Trump's line-in-the-sand diplomacy in the Sahel?

The US president-elect Joe Biden already has his diplomats working on what position they will take in the Sahel, a contrast to months of blocked negotiations with the Trump administration. [...]

EUROPEAN UNION SAHEL Diplomacy 20/11/2020

European Union to hold G5 Sahel summit on 30 November

A virtual summit on 30 November will bring together the heads of state of the G5 Sahel and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, to discuss the future of the Sahel military force, the Coalition for the Sahel, and the Takuba special forces operation. [...]

European Council chairman will MC the G5 Sahel/EU virtual summit. © European Council

FRANCE Diplomacy 04/11/2020

Macron and key ministers to discuss path ahead for the Sahel

A small defence committee will be meeting today, 4 November, to review the evolving situation in the Sahel region. Discussions should focus on Mali and the future of the 5,100 soldiers deployed under Operation Barkhane. [...]

WEST AFRICA Defence Business 26/10/2020

Barkhane, Sabre, FFCI... military services giant Ecolog struggles to win French army logistics contracts

Emirati group Ecolog was approached to challenge the Bolloré group for the contract to transport supplies to the French armed forces in the Sahel and Ivory Coast but, finally, failed to bid in time. It has nevertheless held on to its UN contract in Mali and is developing its business in South Sudan. [...]

A group of Barkhane foot hunters during an operation to combat armed terrorist groups in Burkina Faso (2019). © Philippe de Poulpiquet/PHOTOPQR/LE PARISIEN/MAXPPP

AFRICA Diplomacy 22/10/2020

After Tunis, Jean-Yves Le Drian to visit Bamako, Niamey, Ougadougou and Brazzaville

French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who arrived in Tunis on 21 October to meet President Kaïs Saïed, is on the first leg of an African marathon which will take him to Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Congo. [...]

WEST AFRICA FRANCE Diplomacy 17/06/2020

Operation Barkhane commanders' second life

Some of the generals who led France's largest overseas military operation are leaving the Army without their hoped-for promotion while others have been better in leveraging their experience in the Sahel. [...]

General Pascal Facon, current commander of Operation Barkhane. © French ministry of armies

AFRICA FRANCE Business 16/06/2020

LREM-stamped think tank Obliquum wants edge in on African affairs

Obliquum, the French think tank created by a dozen LREM MPs and two five-star generals, is ready to tackle Africa's security matters. [...]

Rémy Maréchaux, head of the French foreign ministry's Africa and Indian Ocean section. © Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rwanda.

Spotlight

AFRICA FRANCE Diplomacy 21/04/2020

French top African diplomatic post to change hands

As Rémi Maréchaux prepares to step down as head of the French foreign affairs ministry's Africa and Indian Ocean section, he is set to be replaced by fellow diplomat Christophe Bigot. [...]

CENTRAL AFRICA WEST AFRICA Defence Diplomacy 18/12/2019

Paris plans to downsize Operation Barkhane

Following the death of 13 French soldiers in Mali on 25 November, Paris is bringing forward plans, under consideration since September, to downsize its operations. [...]

WEST AFRICA Defence Diplomacy 06/11/2019

High-stakes Sahel visit for Florence Parly

On 4 November, the French armed forces minister Florence Parly embarked on a trip to the Sahel with France forced into reviewing its strategy in the region. [...]

On our other sites

Intelligence Online 10/03/2021

Moscow's spies get too close to French AI Free

Russian agents expelled from the EU in recent weeks were deported for AI-related espionage, as France cracks down on Russian efforts to penetrate its AI sector. [...]

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Adrien Quatennens
Barkhane
Bastien Lachaud
Centre de planification et de conduite des opérations
Christophe Bigot
Direction Afrique et océan Indien
Europe écologie-Les Verts
FAMa
François Lecointre
G5 Sahel
G7
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
International Coalition for the Sahel
Jacques Maire
Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Jean-Yves le Drian
La France Insoumise
La République en marche
Les Républicains
Marc Conruyt
Mathilde Panot
Moctar Ouane
Nicolas Sarkozy
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Obliquum
Parti socialiste
Partnership for Security and Stability in the Sahel
Pascal Facon
Pierre de Villiers
Rassemblement national
Takuba
Thierry Burkhard
Thomas Gassiloud
Yves Calvi

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As presidential election nears, Macron worries of risk of politicising Operation Barkhane

The Sahel threatened by a jihadist tornado

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Receive free prompts for these topics

Macron and Putin play game of bluff over Wagner in Mali

Paris secretly prepared to slap sanctions on military junta

EU to ramp up influence strategy in face of Russian activism

Brussels finances Spanish Uro armoured vehicles for Sahel's gendarmes

Lisbon's inner circle of Sahel strategists

Paris worried EU partners' commitment could wane after Goita's show of force

Delay in appointment of new French army chief has domino effect on Barkhane

Opposition leader Eddie Komboïgo goes on Paris charm offensive

Prague and Rome jockey for EU Sahel envoy post

Air Sahel inches along runway but remains far from take-off

EU frets about fraud as Bamako stocks up on military gear

Macron's LREM party faces difficult election choices in African constituencies

France's secret plans for Sahel military withdrawal

Brexit, troubled economy won't stop UK aid to the Sahel

Expertise France wants to block Gulf of Guinea's cocaine highway

Who will lead the Coalition for the Sahel?

Mélenchon, eyeing French presidency, plans to attack Macron on his African flank

TR Equipement supplies new Aeraccess drones to Malian army

Will Biden end Trump's line-in-the-sand diplomacy in the Sahel?

European Union to hold G5 Sahel summit on 30 November

Macron and key ministers to discuss path ahead for the Sahel

Barkhane, Sabre, FFCI... military services giant Ecolog struggles to win French army logistics contracts

After Tunis, Jean-Yves Le Drian to visit Bamako, Niamey, Ougadougou and Brazzaville

Operation Barkhane commanders' second life

LREM-stamped think tank Obliquum wants edge in on African affairs

French top African diplomatic post to change hands

Paris plans to downsize Operation Barkhane

High-stakes Sahel visit for Florence Parly

Moscow's spies get too close to French AI Free

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