France officially concluded its permanent military presence in Senegal on Thursday, returning its final two military bases to Senegalese control. The handover ceremony took place at Camp Geille in Dakar, marking the end of a 65-year chapter in Franco-Senegalese military relations.

The event was jointly overseen by Senegal’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Mbaye Cissé, and the French Chief of Command in Africa, General Pascal Ianni. It followed a phased withdrawal that began in March, culminating in the complete handover of facilities once used by about 350 French troops.

“This is an important turning point in the rich and long military history between our two countries,” General Cissé said during the ceremony. He added that both nations had “defined new objectives” to give a renewed meaning to their security cooperation. Cissé emphasized Senegal’s goal of consolidating gains toward “strategic autonomy.”

France established a military base in Senegal shortly after the country gained independence in 1960. Over the decades, France’s presence was seen as a symbol of ongoing colonial-era influence—a perception that has increasingly come under criticism.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who took office in 2024, has pledged to end all foreign military presence in the country by 2025. “Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country,” Faye declared in an earlier statement.

The move comes amid rising anti-French sentiment in West Africa, driven by perceptions of neo-colonialism and historical grievances. In 2021, protests in Senegal resulted in widespread vandalism and looting of French-owned businesses. The closure of the bases also coincides with the 80th anniversary of a colonial-era massacre in which French troops killed dozens of West African soldiers protesting unpaid salaries.

President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the atrocity in a letter to President Faye earlier this year, describing it as a “massacre.”

France’s withdrawal from Senegal is the latest in a broader retreat from the region. In recent years, military juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have expelled French troops and cut ties with Paris in favor of new international partners, including Russia. France has also withdrawn its forces from the Central African Republic, Chad, and Ivory Coast.

With the closure of the Senegalese bases, Djibouti remains France’s only permanent military outpost on the African continent, where about 1,500 troops are stationed.

France has indicated that future military cooperation in Africa will focus on training, intelligence-sharing, and joint operations based on mutual requests, rather than permanent deployments. The withdrawal from Senegal reflects this strategic shift, as France redefines its role in Africa amid shifting regional dynamics and growing calls for sovereignty across the continent.