France has officially handed over a key military base in Rufisque to Senegal, marking a significant step in its planned troop withdrawal from the country. The move follows President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s 2023 order that all French military bases must close by 2025. The returned communications center, active since Senegal’s 1960 independence, had long served as a symbol of France’s enduring military presence in the region. But with Faye’s rise to power in 2024, Senegal is rebalancing foreign relations, aiming to treat France as just another international partner. As of July 1, all local Senegalese staff working with French forces were dismissed—signaling a definitive shift in the nation’s post-colonial posture.
France24
