France to Reduce Troops in Africa, Turn Bases Into 'Academies'

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that he will be reducing the number of French troops stationed in Africa while turning military bases into “academies”.

President Macron stated this week that there would be a “noticeable reduction” in the number of French troops stationed in Africa and that existing bases would not be closed but would be “Africanised” and reorganised into “academies” that would be run by the French along with African partners.

“The bases as they exist now are a heritage from the past,” President Macron said. “The change will happen in the coming months with a noticeable reduction of our numbers and a greater presence in these bases of our African partners,” he said, but insisted the move was not a withdrawal, broadcaster Deutsche Welle reports.

According to broadcaster RFI, France still has thousands of troops in Africa, including in Chad and Niger.

“The philosophy behind this change is to cooperate differently, not to deploy more or fewer troops,” a French presidential advisor said. “We are entering a cycle where we will work behind the scenes.”

Macron, who also slammed “the crimes of European colonisation,” made the announcement ahead of his trip to Africa, which began on Wednesday and will see the French head of state tour Gabon, Angola, the Republic of Congo, and the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

The move comes as France has failed to halt radical Islamic militants in the Sahel region and has been criticised by some African governments, particularly in the former French colonies of Mali and Burkina Faso, where French troops have either pulled out or been told to leave by national governments following military coups.

President Macron also mentioned the Russian private military contractor PMC Wagner, which has been active in Mali since the French pulled out last year.

According to Macron, PMC Wagner is the “life insurance of failing regimes in Africa”. He claimed the group was full of criminal mercenaries.

PMC Wagner has been active in Africa for years, primarily in Libya, but is most known for its role in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, where Wagner troops have been a large part of the Russian force making gains around the city of Bakhmut.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.