Mali, The 'Afghanistan' Of France?
The hostility of the Malian military junta towards the presence of French troops and their failure in the fight against terrorism has pushed Paris to rethink its deployment in the Sahel while Russia increases its presence and influence. The Sahel, and specifically Mali, is on its way to becoming France's Afghanistan. The rupture between Paris and Bamako that has been staged with the expulsion of the French ambassador on Monday, has made the Elysee rethink its mission to combat jihadism. Since a military junta seized power in Bamako in May 2021, Paris has been falling out of favor and losing influence. Instead, Russia is taking positions through its Wagner group mercenaries and the emergence of this 'new' actor on the Sahelian chessboard complicates the political balance. The situation cannot continue like this", recognized the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian , in statements to the state channel France 2. "The rupture" that the Malian Junta has for...