Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 20, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
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France retains 80 troops in Ivory Coast for training amid a broader military scale-back in West Africa, says Defence Minister Lecornu.
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - France said on Thursday it would keep 80 military personnel in Ivory Coast largely for training purposes, as it handed over control of a military base in the commercial capital amid a scaling back of its forces across West and Central Africa.
At Thursday's ceremony in Abidjan, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France was "not disappearing".
The 80 military personnel would form "the basis of a joint detachment ... depending on the needs you express, needs that will be constantly reassessed, particularly in terms of training," he said.
Forces from former colonial power France have been deployed in Ivory Coast for decades, helping President Alassane Ouattara take office in 2011 after his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refused to acknowledge defeat in the 2010 election.
In late November, sources told Reuters that France was considering reducing its military presence in West and Central African countries including Ivory Coast to 600 troops from around 2,200, at a time when Russia has been gaining ground.
Ouattara said in December that French forces would withdraw from Ivory Coast.
France began its military withdrawal from Chad in December after the government there - a key Western ally in the fight against Islamic militants in the region - abruptly ended its defence cooperation pact with France.
France had already pulled its soldiers out of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger following military coups and spreading anti-French sentiment.
(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
France is keeping 80 military personnel in Ivory Coast primarily for training purposes, as stated by Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
French forces have been deployed in Ivory Coast for decades, assisting in political stability, particularly after the 2011 crisis involving President Alassane Ouattara.
France has been reducing its military presence in West and Central Africa, considering a reduction from 2,200 troops to 600 across several countries, including Ivory Coast.
In December, President Ouattara indicated that French forces would withdraw from Ivory Coast, reflecting a shift in defense cooperation.
France has already withdrawn its soldiers from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger due to military coups and rising anti-French sentiment in those regions.
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