France officially ended its permanent military presence in Senegal on Thursday, July 17, 2025, after over sixty years of uninterrupted deployment. This withdrawal was mainly a promise from the new Senegalese president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, elected in March 2024, to revise the military agreements signed with the former colonial power.
Through a ceremony held at Camp Geille in Dakar, French military authorities handed over the last two military installations: Camp Geille and the military stopover at Dakar airport. The transfer took place in the presence of the Senegalese Chief of Staff, General Mbaye Cissé, and General Pascal Ianni, commander of French forces in Africa.
Paris argues that its withdrawal marks the beginning of a strategic reorientation of its military cooperation with its “African partners”. However, the successive withdrawals of French troops in the Sahel region come in the context of denouncing defense agreements signed with the former colonial metropolis.
However, Dakar does not intend to completely halt its military cooperation with Paris, but rather aims to develop a more balanced cooperation, respecting its national sovereignty. This includes areas such as security, counterterrorism, and combating organized crime.
