The French Minister of Armies, Florence Parly, will try, this Monday, January 27 in Washington, to convince her American counterpart, Mark Esper, not to withdraw from France a crucial support in the fight which she has waged for almost seven years to jihadist groups in the Sahel.
French officials have made no secret of their concern at the United States' declared desire to reduce the resources devoted for two decades to the "War on terror" to focus their efforts on the threats posed by China and Russia. In the Sahel, Washington provides significant support to the 4,700 French soldiers of the “Barkhane” operation with its bases in Niger in terms of logistics, supplies and, above all, surveillance, with drones equipped with an interception system. communications that they are to date the only ones able to provide.
"I am trying to prevent the Americans from going away", said last week the Chief of the Defense Staff, General François Lecointre, who assures that his military interlocutors "Agree that it would make no sense" given the magnitude of the jihadist threat in Libya and the Sahel, where the local branch of the Islamic State (IS) group, in particular, is increasing the number of deadly attacks. "There is a real risk of ISIS reconstructing the sanctuary it lost in the Middle East in the Sahel", insists those around Florence Parly.
The trouble is that the American decision, although taken at the Pentagon, risks being influenced by the electoral agenda of a Donald Trump eager to prove that he keeps his promise to bring back "Boys" at home. However, Pentagon chief Mark Esper seems less inclined than Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, or influential parliamentarians, like Senator Lindsey Graham, to oppose the often impulsive decisions of the White House tenant – like the illustrated the hasty withdrawal of American soldiers from northern Syria in October.
During their scheduled meeting at 10:30 am in Washington (3:30 pm GMT), Florence Parly will not miss the opportunity to remind Mark Esper that France is one of the United States' most solid partners. Besides the Sahel, the future of the coalition against ISIS in the Levant or the reform of NATO are also on the agenda. The Minister of Armies will repeat her message to the head of the National Security Agency (NSA), General Paul Nakasone, then to Donald Trump's national security adviser Robert O’Brien, who will later receive it at the White House.
France arms its drones
For Florence Parly, there is urgency to convince, the chief of staff of the American armies, General Mark Milley, having promised a decision on the device in the Sahelo-Saharan zone at the latest in early March. In a telephone interview with journalists ten days ago, the commander of American operations in Africa (Africom), General William Gayler, said he was confident that she would be taken "In consultation and coordination with our European allies".
But in reality, the "Reorientation" The means deployed by the United States in Africa are already being felt on the ground, particularly in the area of air intelligence, American officials told Reuters. According to one of them, the American drones, for example, have already stopped flying over the region of Lake Chad, the area of influence of the Nigerian group Boko Haram. Increased disengagement could "Plunge into the dark" soldiers from "Barkhane", who fight further west from groups affiliated with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS).
To try to avoid it, Florence Parly should brandish a strong argument: with an estimated budget of 45 million dollars per year (around 41 billion euros), the United States provides the Sahel with only one “Limited financial effort for maximum impact on the ground”, underlines the Ministry of the Armed Forces. "This is not the time to disengage, but on the contrary to put the package in all areas", we add, recalling that this involves efforts in the areas of justice and governance of the G5 Sahel states (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad), which Emmanuel Macron gathered in Pau on 13 January.
Pending the decision by the United States, France began to anticipate a withdrawal by deciding to arm its drones, which conducted their first strikes in late December in Mali. Six more drones are expected in Niger by the end of the year, bringing the number of aircraft to nine. General Lecointre said the military would have the same means of intercepting communications as the United States at that time.
Paris is also looking to attract new partners. It is in this spirit that Florence Parly went to the Sahel last week with three of her European counterparts.
