In accordance with the decision of the joint commission on Feb. 28 this year and the treaty on military cooperation signed between France and Senegal on April 18, 2012, the French side transferred the facilities and accommodations of the Marechal and Saint-Exupery quarters to Senegal.
The two sites, located near Hann Park, had been prepared for return since the summer of 2024, according to the French embassy. Other military sites will be handed over based on the agreed schedule.
In late December 2024, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced plans to implement a new cooperation doctrine aimed at removing all foreign military presence from Senegal starting in 2025.
This announcement followed an earlier statement made to the French press, in which Faye declared the closure of France's permanent military base in Senegal.
Senegal's shift in policy regarding foreign military presence, particularly the French military contingent, began in 2010 under former President Abdoulaye Wade. Since then, the number of French troops in Senegal has been reduced from 1,200 to approximately 350.
Over the past two years, military juntas in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have expelled French troops, prompting a broader reassessment of foreign military deployments in the Sahel region.
Chad has also followed this trend, announcing the termination of its security and defense cooperation agreement with France in November 2024. Meanwhile, Cote d'Ivoire officially assumed control of the last remaining French military base in the country in February 2025.