Paris turns towards NATO – and away from • Table.Briefings

French President Emmanuel Macron at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

France’s relationship with NATO has long been tense. This seems to be changing because Emmanuel Macron is shifting the military focus to Europe by withdrawing from Africa. However, some people in Paris are worried about the German turnaround.

With overseas territories in the Indo-Pacific and a long presence in former colonies in West Africa, France has a more global security policy than Germany, but in future it wants to make a stronger presence in Europe and NATO. The French armed forces will leave Niger by the end of the year, compared to 1,500 in September and the end of Operation Barkhane in Mali in 2022, in which 4,500 French soldiers were deployed at times. The French are increasingly less welcome in their former West African colonies.

Paris turns towards NATO – and away from Africa

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