BREAKING: In Gabon, French Army Base Shifts Focus As One Of Last In Africa

A Gabonese squadron halts to salute a French colonel at one of France’s last military bases in Africa which is now “shared” with the host nation and focused on training.

The “Academie militaire” (Military Academy) sign at the entrance of De Gaulle camp in the capital Libreville has replaced “6th Marine Infantry Battalion”, the French army unit deployed in Gabon since 1975.

Ten years ago, nearly 1,200 French forces were stationed, sometimes with their families, in the central African country.

No more than 200 troops are currently posted there and will be mainly engaged in training Gabonese forces.

“There will be no more armoured vehicles or French tanks here in Libreville, but there will be instructors,” Gabon’s junta chief Brice Oligui Nguema said late Tuesday in an interview with Radio France Internationale.

“This is the best balance we found together,” Oligui said, adding that he wanted the camp to become a “sub-regional hub for training”.

The drastic cutback of France’s military presence is part of a wider overhaul in Africa.

From Chad to Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Ivory Coast, France has been forced to withdraw its troops or hand over its military bases to local forces in recent years under pressure from governments keen to show they are distancing themselves from the former colonial power.

France had backed Gabon’s Bongo dynasty which ruled the oil-rich nation with an iron fist for 55 years until a 2023 coup.

In Libreville, two institutions under Gabonese military command have been integrated into the military base, within which the French role will be reduced.

The Libreville Defence Forces Administration School (EAFDL), inaugurated in July, will soon be joined by the Academy for the Protection of the Environment and Natural Resources.

The latter provides training in combating poaching in a country famed for its lush tropical forests and abundant wildlife as well as illegal gold mining.

Turning the base into a “shared camp” was a “political choice” after discussions with the Gabonese, who wanted the French to focus on training, Colonel Bertrand Jacqmin, the commanding officer of the French unit, said.

‘African security challenges’

At a training area, Sergeant Honoarii, who has just come from Carcassonne in southern France, is busy with a mortar firing refresher session for a Gabonese parachute regiment.

On the other side of the camp is Tony, a veteran of the French army’s overseas operations, who has come for four months to lead an urban combat training module.

“The Gabonese conduct a lot of battles in jungles, but with the current global situation, urban combat can happen at any time in the country,” he said.

“The entire range of expertise of the French armed forces can be transferred here,” Colonel Jacqmin added, stressing that the programme was tailored to “African security, demographic and migration challenges.”

“This partnership with France… is an advantage for Gabon,” said Gabonese Colonel Eric Ivala, head of the EAFDL.

The French army was forced to leave Chad in just a few weeks in November. Senegal is also negotiating the departure of French troops by the end of this year.

That means the Libreville camp will be the only permanent French army base in Africa, along with Djibouti on the continent’s eastern side.

‘We want to stay’

France maintains a military presence in Gabon under a defence partnership pact, which was renewed for a two-year period by Oligui when he seized power in the August 2023 coup.

It will need further approval after a presidential election scheduled for April.

“We want to stay as long as possible because… cooperation benefits both partners,” said French Lieutenant-Colonel Kamel, who oversees the military base’s administration school with Gabonese counterparts.

But the camp’s future is “above all, a Gabonese decision”, Jacqmin, the French colonel, said.

Oligui said Tuesday that the French were welcome, while making it clear Gabon was keeping its options open.

“The Russians, perhaps tomorrow if they want to come, will also be welcome,” he said.