Sawt Falasteen - France set to hand over sole military base in Ivory Coast

The 230-hectare (570-acre) Port-Bouet military camp flanking Ivory Coast's main city has been a fixture in the country's life for decades and helped stabilise the world's top cocoa producer after coups and unrest broke out in the stable nation after 2000.

The withdrawal of French troops, announced by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in December, is part of a regional trend of African countries diluting military ties with France.

At the base's entrance, the watchtowers have been repainted in orange, white and green -- the national colours of Ivory Coast -- but the flags of both countries are still flying.

As of February 20, the 43rd BIMA marine infantry battalion's camp will become Camp Thomas d'Aquin Ouattara, after the Ivorian army's first chief of staff, whose portrait is set to be unveiled on the facade of the command post.

For several weeks now, some 100 Ivorian paratroopers have been based at Port-Bouët.

"We carry out combat training and team spirit activities with our French partners every day," said Captain Ange Yoboue Kouame, who leads the parachute regiment.

"The cohabitation is very good."

At the shooting range, French Chief Warrant Officer Frederic was supervising one of the Ivorian army's first practice sessions.

"We're just here, with two instructors, to advise and support them. After that, they'll be using the stand on their own," he said.

France is revamping military relations with African nations after the forced departure of its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where military-led governments hostile to Paris have seized power.

About 1,000 French soldiers were deployed in Port-Bouet and helped in the fight against jihadists, who launch regular attacks across the wider region.

Both sides said the handover was worked upon harmoniously.

- 'Historic moment' -

"For 18 months, we have been looking for a subject over which we would have disagreed with the Ivorians," said a French colonel.

"There can be a concerted approach... unlike the confrontational approach observed elsewhere," said an Ivorian officer, citing "a common military history that facilitates exchanges".

"We are at a historic moment in a mature relationship between two countries. It is absolutely not in a crisis that we are proceeding with this handover, it is a necessary evolution wanted by our presidents," said Colonel Damien Mireval, the French defence attache in Abidjan.

The links between the two armies date back to 1961 and a defence agreement signed in the aftermath of independence.

In 2002, after an attempted coup against then president Laurent Gbagbo and the takeover of part of the country by rebels, France put in place the Licorne (Unicorn) force to protect French nationals and to try to stabilise the country.

In April 2011, this force, alongside the United Nations, carried out bombings on Gbagbo's residence, after several months of post-election crisis.

The mission wound up in 2015.

The French withdrawal will take place gradually over the course of 2025, but about a hundred French soldiers are expected to remain for training and support missions.

At the beginning of January, a military academy for information and communication systems was created on the base. A dozen lieutenants from seven French-speaking African countries are currently undergoing training there.

G.AbuOdeh--SF-PST