Ivorian soldiers prepare for a ceremony at the 43rd Marine Infantry Battalion in Port Bouet in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on February 20, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
France has pulled out from its sole military base in Ivory Coast, ending decades of its military presence in the West African nation.
France’s Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Ivorian Defense Minister Tene Birahima Ouattara on Thursday formalized the handover by signing a document after the Ivorian flag was raised at the 230-hectare (570-acre) Port-Bouet military camp.
The base, home to the 43rd BIMA marine infantry battalion near Abidjan, will be renamed in honor of Thomas d'Aquin Ouattara, the Ivorian army's first chief of staff.
Lecornu said that as “the world is changing... it’s obvious that our military relationship should change”. He said the presence of his country in Ivory Coast “is changing, but not disappearing.”
In recent weeks, about 100 Ivorian paratroopers have relocated to the base, participating in joint exercises with the French troops.
French-speaking Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, is West Africa's largest and most prosperous economy. It emerged from nearly a decade of short wars and a protracted crisis in 2011.
The French withdrawal, which will take place gradually over the course of 2025, follows a regional trend of ousting French forces, reflecting a broader shift in West Africa’s ties with Paris amid rising anti-French sentiment, especially in coup-hit nations.
In recent years, French troops, long present in West Africa, have been expelled from several countries, including Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Chad—once seen as France’s most stable and loyal ally in Africa.
France has been asked to withdraw from over 70 percent of its former African military bases, leaving only 1,500 troops in Djibouti and 350 in Gabon.
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