Ivory Coast says that French troops will leave the country starting January 2025, becoming the latest African nation to downscale military ties with its former colonial power.

French forces have also left Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Nigeria in recent months after a series of military coups.

Ivory Coast is home to the biggest remaining contingent of French troops in West Africa. There are some 600 French military personnel in the country with 350 in Senegal. France, w

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said on Tuesday that French forces would withdraw from the West African nation, continuing the former colonial power's military exit from the region. Speaking in an end-of-year address to the nation,

In recent months, six African countries have asked France to withdraw their troops, significantly curtailing France’s influence in the region that it had traditionally had a sway in

Ivory Coast’s president announced the withdrawal of French troops from the country, joining a growing number of francophone states that have asked the former colonial power to relinquish its military presence in West Africa.

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara's announcement is a further sign of former colonial power France's fading military influence in West Africa. View on euronews

The Ivory Coast has ordered French forces to leave the country by August 2025. In a New Year’s Eve address, President Alassane Ouattara exhorted Ivorians to “be proud of our army, whose modernization is now effective.