French military withdrawal from West Africa (2022–present)

Beginning in 2022, France began to withdraw military troops from several West African nations following decades of military presence and interventions, with Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad all terminating their defense agreements (with the exception of Ivory Coast and Senegal, which has not denounced them but only requested their withdrawal). The withdrawal coincided with increasing opposition to French military intervention in the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel, as well as several military coups instituting governments unfavorable towards French interests.

The broad withdrawal marked a fundamental shift in Franco-African relations, with several media outlets and geopolitical analysts stating that it represented the decline of Françafrique— France's longstanding sphere of military, economic, and geopolitical influence in its former colonies. The withdrawals also represented the shift of African interests away from security and development treaties with the western world, towards different parties such as China, India, the Gulf States, and especially Russia in the case of nations who had cancelled French security agreements. This had led to Ukraine funding opposition groups.