France ended Senegal's permanent military presence

France returned its last military base in the West African country of Senegal, ending its permanent military presence there.

According to reports from AFP and Xinhua News Agency, the French military held a ceremony in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, on Thursday (July 17) to officially hand over Camp Geille, the largest military base in Senegal, as well as the airfield at Dakar Airport.

Pascal Ianni, the commander of the French force in Africa, said at the handover ceremony that this move marks the end of France's permanent military presence in Senegal and also marks the beginning of a new stage in the military cooperation between the two countries.

Mbaye Cisse, the chief of Staff of the Senegalese Armed Forces, stated that the Senegalese government is updating the framework for defense and security cooperation, with the core objective being to support the independent development of the Senegalese military.

He said, "The future direction of cooperation between Senegal and France depends on the political will of the two governments, and at the same time, Senegal's sovereignty must be respected more."

France once had five military bases in Senegal, among which Camp Guelai was the largest and most fully functional. Since March this year, France has successively handed over four other military bases to the Serbian side.

France has withdrawn its troops from several African countries in recent years. The French army withdrew from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger successively from 2022 to the end of 2023, and also withdrew its first batch of personnel from Chad in December last year.

In his New Year's speech in 2025, Ivorian President Ouattara also proposed that France withdraw its troops. France then officially handed over the Port-Bouet military base to Cote d 'Ivoire in February this year.