Senegal’s prime minister, Ousmane Sonko, raised the possibility of closing French military bases in the West African country on Thursday in a wide-ranging speech that also touched on the euro-backed CFA franc currency, oil and gas deals and LGBTQ rights.
Sonko, a firebrand politician who gained power when his hand-picked presidential candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, won a decisive victory in March, is known for criticizing perceived overreach by France in it’s former colony.
Sonko said at a joint conference with the French left-wing politician Jean-Luc Melenchon in the capital Dakar that “more than 60 years after independence, we must question the reasons why the French army still benefits from several military bases in the country and the impact of this presence on national sovereignty and autonomy.
Neighbors Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have pushed out French troops and turned to Russia for help fighting jihadist insurgencies on their territory.
They have also turned away from the West African bloc, ECOWAS, which condemned their coups, and formed their own alliance of Sahel states.
But Sonko had friendly words for them on Thursday.
He also said Senegal, which shares the euro-pegged CFA franc currency with seven countries, would like a flexible currency pegged to at least two currencies to help absorb shocks and support export competitiveness.
During the election campaign, Faye initially pledged to abandon the CFA franc but later backed off his promise.
Sonko reiterated promises to renegotiate oil and gas contracts in Senegal, where production is due to begin this year.
He also called on Western countries to show “restraint, respect, reciprocity and tolerance” on social matters, including LGBTQ rights and gender equality.
He said homosexuality had always existed in Senegal, but the country had “managed” it and would continue to do so according to its socio-cultural realities.

Photo: ARAB NEWS