The Not-Breaking News: The French Failures in West Africa

In 2013, France returned to Mali to help quash out rebellions from the northern parts of the country. However, in August 2020, the widespread protests about President Keita culminated into a violent coup. A second coup followed in the following year and cemented the Malian army’s control of the region. Disagreements began with allegations of France inciting and advising bordering countries to stop the Malian military rule. The seemingly small skirmishes surmounted to the expulsion of the French ambassador from Bamako, Mali in January of this year. France was accused of not amending former accords, espionage, illegal firearm supplying and 50 or so airspace violations which were all denied by the Parisian government. Therefore, France has called for immediate withdrawal of all 2400 troops. To many this was a great step forward for Mali and Africa as a whole. Additionally, in October 2023, <a href="https://medium.com/@devushah15/the-not-breaking-news-the-french-failures-in-west-africa-784f0bd0737e">Read More</a>