Bamako has further escalated its conflict with Paris by demanding the revocation of the defence agreements between the two countries. The French army’s chief of staff has described this decision as “illegitimate”.
Paris and Bamako’s divorce is now being played out on several fronts. In a confidential note verbale sent on 2 May to the French embassy in Bamako’s chargé d’affaires, Mali’s ruling junta denounced the defence agreements concluded in 2013 with France and its European partners in the Takuba force.