Senegal's PM Questions French Military Presence, Monetary Control

By Al Mayadeen English

17 May 2024 16:21

Sonko lambasts Macron for policies and says Senegal should work to secure security and financial sovereignty.

Recently appointed Senegalese Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, has put into question the French military presence in the country, during a talk he held for university students on Thursday. 

Sonko said that "cooperation must take into account Senegal's sovereignty in both monetary and security fields."

"We must ask ourselves the reasons why the French army still has many military bases in our country and their impact on our sovereignty and our strategic autonomy," he said.

The premier reiterated "Senegal's wish to determine its course which is incompatible with the entrenched presence of foreign military bases."

France currently has 350 troops deployed in Senegal, but also has overarching control over the country's finances, as Paris has pegged the CFA franc shared by seven of its former colonies to the euro. 

In this context, Sonko underlined the need to award Senegal a flexible currency pegged to at least two currencies to help absorb shocks and support export competitiveness. 

Moreover, the Senegalese leader had friendly words for the West African countries that witnessed coups against their Western-allied governments. Sonko's comments in this regard show a major shift in Senegalese foreign relations, as the country had previously been adamant in adopting the ECOWAS position against military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

"We will not let go of our brothers in the Sahel and we will do everything necessary to strengthen the ties," he underscored.

Sonko was appointed Prime Minister after Bassirou Diomaye Faye, of PASTEF, won the 2024 presidential election after receiving 54% of the vote.

Both Sonko and Faye were imprisoned by then-President Macky Sall, who cracked down on opposition leaders, and were released just ahead of the 2024 election. 

Consequently, Sonko in his latest address lambasted French President Emmanuel Macron for failing to denounce Sall's crackdown on opposition protests. Sonko said Macron had received and "congratulated" Sall at "the worst phase of the repression."

"This is an incitement to repression, an incitement to persecution," he added.