The French army has officially returned the joint base in Rufisque to Senegal, marking another step in the gradual withdrawal of French army in Senegal (EFS).
The site, formerly managed by France’s Joint Directorate of Infrastructure Networks and Information Systems (Dirisi), had played a key role in communications along the southern Atlantic coast since 1960.
This handover follows the February 2025 agreement between the two countries to renew their bilateral defense and security partnership, with a joint Senegalese-French commission currently managing the schedule and logistics for the full withdrawal of French forces by the end of summer 2025.
Earlier, the Maréchal and Saint Exupéry sites were returned in March, followed by the Rear Admiral Protêt district at the Port of Dakar in May. Remaining sites to be transferred include the aeronautical stopover at the Dakar military airport and the Hann Park location under the Reinforcing African Peacekeeping Capacities (Recamp) program.
Established on August 1, 2011, to replace the long-standing French Forces of Cape Verde, the EFS marked France’s continued military presence in Senegal since independence.
The transition gained momentum following a meeting in Seville between Presidents Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Emmanuel Macron, where the French leader welcomed the restructuring of the partnership as a way to strengthen mutual sovereignty and cooperation.
