France hands over military site to Senegal

DAKAR - France has officially transferred control of the "Contre-Amiral Protet" military base to Senegal, the third military site handed over to Dakar this year, the French embassy said.

The two other sites, Marechal and Saint-Exupery, were handed over in March. All three sites are located in Dakar, the Senegalese capital.

All remaining French-operated facilities in Senegal are scheduled to be transferred by the summer of 2025, following a mutually agreed timetable, the embassy said in a statement Thursday.

On Feb 12, the foreign ministers of France and Senegal issued a joint statement announcing the creation of a joint commission to oversee the phased withdrawal of French troops from Senegal.

The commission is responsible for ensuring that French forces withdraw from Senegal and return all military sites by the end of 2025.

Both sides expressed their intention to establish a new framework for defense and security cooperation based on shared strategic priorities.

The joint commission held its first meeting on Feb 28, during which it decided to initiate the transfer of the Marechal and Saint-Exupery military sites in Dakar.

On Dec 31, 2024, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced in his New Year's address that French troops would be required to withdraw from Senegal, beginning in 2025.

In recent years, several African countries have called for the withdrawal of French military forces.

Between 2022 and the end of 2023, France pulled out its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. In December 2024, French forces began withdrawing personnel from Chad.

In his 2025 New Year's speech, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara also proposed the departure of French troops from Cote d'Ivoire.