The information was confirmed for RFI, the next G5 Sahel summit will take place on Friday, July 9 via video conference. Emmanuel Macron will attend the meeting. He will have Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum by his side, who has been invited to the Élysée Palace. The French president should use this summit to specify the future French involvement in the region, one month after the announcement of the gradual end of Operation Barkhane.
There were doubts about his participation, but the French president will attend this summit on Friday. The device will be a little special this time: Emmanuel Macron will have by his side Mohamed Bazoum. The Nigerian president, who will be the first G5 summit as head of state, was indeed invited to the Élysée that day. The two men will discuss from the presidential palace with their counterparts in the Sahel via video conference.
This will certainly be an opportunity for Emmanuel Macron to specify the outlines of France’s future involvement in the region. The summit comes almost a month to the next day the announcement of the gradual withdrawal of Operation Barkhane. The goal for Paris is to halve the number of French soldiers in the Sahel by January 2023. This announcement, which visibly surprised some Sahelian leaders, was made in a context of tension.
The French president no longer hides his outrage over the situation in some countries. “I have to note that in several states in the region, there has been no resumption of decision-making by bringing state and administration back to the areas that are militarily liberated from terrorism,” Emmanuel said. Macron last month before adding: “In responsibility, it is not France’s role to replace the states forever”.
►Listen too: End of Barkhane: “It is acknowledged that the strategy defined by France did not work”
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