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The Malian Foreign Ministry summoned the French Ambassador to Bamako for “unfriendly and derogatory” remarks from President Emmanuel Macron.
France is concerned that the ruling Malian junta is employing Russian paramilitaries to help fight jihadists in the Sahel, while Paris is reducing its own military mission there.
“The state must return with its justice, its education, its police everywhere, especially in Mali,” Macron said on Tuesday, warning that the vast territory was in danger of being invaded by jihadists and traffickers.
Mali was quick to retaliate, issuing a statement protesting what it called “regrettable remarks”, and calling on France “to avoid value judgments” and “focus on the essentials” , like the fight against terrorism.
Reduced influence
Paris sees its influence called into question in the Sahel, in particular by Moscow, which is reorganizing its military presence, increasing its troops from 5,000 to 3,000 by 2023.
The reduction of the French military operation, known as Barkhane, is at the origin of the tensions between the two countries.
To compensate for the loss of French boots on the ground, the Malian junta, in power since a coup in May, is considering recruiting mercenaries from the private Russian company Wagner.
If that happens, Paris threatens to withdraw completely from the country, where it has had a military presence since 2013.
Malian transitional prime minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga previously accused France of abandoning the country “in the air” – comments Macron called “shameful”.
Fifty-two French soldiers have been killed in the Sahel since 2013.
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