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January 2, 2025

Ivory Coast to Expel French Soldiers, Following Other Former French Colonies in Africa
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The president of the Ivory Coast says he has asked France to withdraw
its troops from the West African country. Ivory Coast officially gained
independence from French colonial rule in 1960, but France has
maintained a military presence for decades, with some 600 soldiers
remaining in the country when President Alassane Ouattara announced they
would have to depart.

President Alassane Ouattara: "My dear compatriots, dear brothers and
sisters, we can be proud of our army, whose modernization is now a
reality. It is within this framework that we have decided on the
coordinated and organized withdrawal of French forces from Côte
d'Ivoire."

This follows the expulsion of French troops from several other African
nations in recent months: Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal and Chad.
Of Africa's former French colonies, only Djibouti and Gabon will
continue to host French forces.


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