France’s proposed drawdown of troops from Mali may not be comparable to defeat in Vietnam and Algeria, but it is recognition that eight years after going in to stabilise the Sahel, its strategy is failing. Indeed, French influence in the wider Francophone Africa region is under threat. Earlier this month President Macron responded to the second military coup in Mali in less than a year by announcing a “profound transformation” of his country’s military operations in the region. The reality may not be as profound as his statement was meant to sound to a domestic public increasingly sceptical about the wisdom of staying the course. France is stuck in the sands and scrubland of this vast area, fed up with fighting, anxious for help, but knows that for now a full retreat is impossible.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 24, 2021 23:48 UTC