Overview

• France formally handed over Camp Geille and Dakar airport’s airfield to Senegalese authorities in a ceremony on July 17.
• About 350 French soldiers concluded a three-month withdrawal that began in March after joint operations with the Senegalese army.
• The transfer marks the completion of Paris’s drawdown of permanent camps in West and Central Africa following earlier base closures in Ivory Coast and Chad.
• Only France’s base in Djibouti, hosting roughly 1,500 troops, will remain as its sole permanent military hub on the continent.
• Senegal’s president has insisted on sovereignty while affirming that France will remain an important security partner through training and intelligence support.