“We will not tolerate any ultimatum, and will not be sensitive to any pressure, whatever their source”, hammered Mr. Castex, during a declaration before the National Assembly followed by a debate in a particularly bare hemicycle.
An organization of “Russian mercenaries”
France announced on Thursday the gradual disengagement of some 2,400 soldiers deployed in Mali, out of a total of 4,600 in the Sahel, in a context of heightened tensions with the colonels who came to power by force in August 2020.
“On the military level, we will have to close the bases of Gossi, Ménaka and finally Gao. The maneuver will be carried out in good order and in safety and will last between four and six months, ”explained Mr. Castex.
Returning to the reasons for the departure of France after nine years of commitment, Mr. Castex crushed a regime which “denied, one by one, its commitments” and which “chosen to rely on a private organization well known to Russian mercenaries, Wagner, whose economic model is based on the predation of the wealth of the countries in which it operates”.
“It is no longer possible today for us to invest in a country whose authorities no longer wish to cooperate with the Europeans and hinder their ability to act”, pleaded the Prime Minister.