PARIS (AFP) - The French 
military completed its withdrawal from Senegal on Thursday, the last West African country with a permanent troop presence, amid Paris’ waning regional influence.
France has faced opposition from leaders of some of its former colonies in Africa over what they described as a demeaning and heavy-handed approach to the continent.
The French military handed over Camp Geille, its largest base in Senegal, along with a nearby air facility, to the Senegalese government during a ceremony in the capital Dakar.
About 350 French soldiers, who had primarily been tasked with conducting joint operations with the Senegalese army, are now leaving the country, marking the end of a departure process that began in March.
Senegalese Chief of the General Staff Mbaye Cisse said the handover marked “an important turning point in the rich and long military journey of our two countries”.
France is “reinventing partnerships in a dynamic Africa”, Ianni said. “We are turning a page in the military history of our two countries, … a very special relationship and one essential for the countries of the region.”
The pullout ends the French army’s 65-year presence in Senegal and comes after similar withdrawals across the continent as former colonies increasingly turn their backs on the nation that once ruled them.
Only the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti will be home to a permanent French army base after Thursday’s withdrawal.