4
May
2022
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Threats to stability, security and democracy in Western and Sahelian Africa (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, despite the ingratitude of the Malian junta towards the 59 French soldiers who have fallen in the Sahel, our total withdrawal from that region is not conceivable. On the one hand, because other actors will soon have to make up for the departure of Westerners. Turkey already strengthens its military and diplomatic presence, when it does not play, moreover, the religious card. On the other hand, because any advance by Islamist terrorists would inevitably affect Europe in terms of security and migration, this is all the more true at a time when the conflict in Ukraine raises the spectre of famine in an Africa dependent on its wheat imports. However, in the aftermath of the end of Operation Barkhane and its European counterpart Takuba, the deterioration of the balance of forces on the ground is blatant. This is evidenced by the chilling admission of the Nigerien president in December that the jihadists are superior to certain African national armies. The long-announced rise in terrorism to the Gulf of Guinea has now been proven. With its new Peace Facility, it is hoped that the European Union will finally approach military cooperation with Africa in a realistic and lucid manner. At the same time, Europeans are likely to remain the largest providers of development aid. But our considerable commitment must finally be paid back: it is intolerable that the sacrifice of French soldiers should be met with an obsessive hatred of our country.