French Ambassador to Dakar, Marie Thé Niane, has announced that France will hand over its last military base in Ouakam to the Senegalese authorities on July 18, marking the completion of its military withdrawal from the country.
The announcement came during a reception at the French Embassy, where she noted that the move is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s 2022 directive to reshape partnerships based on “mutual respect and complementarity.”
Earlier in July, France had already transferred a military radio station in Darack Rufisque, which provided communications support for French forces in the Atlantic region.
Relations between the two countries grew tense in early 2025 after Macron accused some African nations of “forgetting to be thankful” to the French army. In response, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko accused France of destabilizing the region.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye had earlier announced plans to end all foreign military presence by the end of 2025, prompting the creation of a joint committee in February to oversee the process.
More recently, Faye and Macron met on the sidelines of a conference in Spain to discuss restructuring bilateral relations.
