French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized African Sahel states for failing to acknowledge France’s role in preventing their nations from falling under militant control.
Speaking on France’s security-focused relationship with its former colonies, Macron emphasized that French troops were deployed to West African countries at the request of their governments.
In a video shared by BBC on Monday, Macron expressed his disappointment as French forces began their withdrawal from Ivory Coast in January. This follows earlier withdrawals from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
The French military had been asked to leave several countries in the region, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Benin. 
Macron said: “We had a relationship based on security. It was, in fact, two-fold: on one hand, it was our engagement against terrorism since 2013. We were right. I think someone forgot to say thank you. It’s okay; it will come with time. Ungratefulness, I know too well, is a disease that can’t be transmitted to man, but I say this is for all African heads of state who have not had the courage, in the face of public opinion, to hold that view. None of them would be a sovereign state today if the French army hadn’t deployed in the region.
“My heart goes out to all our soldiers, some of whom have given their lives and fought for years. We did the right thing. We left because there were coups d’etat, because we were there at the request of the sovereign states who asked France to come. From the moment there were coups d’etat and people said their priority was no longer fighting terrorism, it’s this or that—it doesn’t matter—France no longer belonged there because we are not at the beck and call of coup leaders. So we left.”
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