Paris: President Emmanuel Macron has formally ended France’s decade-long operation to fight Islamist insurgents in the Sahel. At its high point, Operation Barkhane saw some 5,500 French soldiers deployed in Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. In a major speech at a naval base in Toulon, he said some French troops would remain in the region. The announcement represents a major shift in French strategic priorities, brought on by the war in Ukraine and changing perceptions of the most important threats facing the country.
