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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
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Jean-Luc Mélenchon
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Marc Conruyt
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Nicolas Sarkozy
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Pascal Facon
Pierre de Villiers
Rassemblement national
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Thomas Gassiloud
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La France Insoumise leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

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Spotlight

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

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

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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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The Sahel threatened by a jihadist tornado

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

The Sahel threatened by a jihadist tornado

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Set up email notifications for these topics

Paris and Ankara to resume strategic dialogue on Africa

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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