The EU and France in the Sahel

In June this year, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the end of Operation Barkhane – a military offensive launched in 2013 against Islamist militants in the Sahel. France has determined, he said, it could no longer maintain a “constant presence” in West Africa. In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard discusses European interests in the region and what might change after France’s Africa policy shift, together with Emanuela Del Re, former Italian deputy foreign minister and the new EU special representative for the Sahel; Sylvie Kauffmann, editorial director, lead writer, and columnist for Le Monde; as well as ECFR’s Andrew Lebovich. What does the end of Operation Barkhane in its current form mean for the Sahel? What could further European and international engagement in the region look like?

This podcast was recorded on 7 July 2021.

Further reading:

• “After Barkhane: What France’s military drawdown means for the Sahel” by Andrew Lebovich

Bookshelf

• ”La Guerre de vingt ans. Djihadisme et contre-terrorisme au XXIe siècle” by Marc Hecker & Elie Tenenbaum
• “Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel” by Alexander Thurston
• “Être etudiant au Mali: chroniques d’une vie d’étudiant” by Boubacar Sangaré
• “Moral letters to Lucilius“ by Seneca
• “From Empires to NGOs in the West African Sahel. The Road to Nongovernmentality” by Gregory Mann
• “Half of a Yellow Sun” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• “L’Islâm in Europa: riflessioni di un imâm italiano “ by Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini