{"id":320750,"date":"2017-05-19T11:42:14","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T11:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=320750"},"modified":"2017-05-19T11:42:14","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T11:42:14","slug":"macron-arrives-in-mali-for-visit-to-french-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/05\/macron-arrives-in-mali-for-visit-to-french-troops\/","title":{"rendered":"Macron arrives in Mali for visit to French troops"},"content":{"rendered":"
Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Mali to meet French troops, less than a week after his inauguration as president.<\/p>\n
Mr Macron’s plane touched down at a French airbase in the north of the country just before 10:00 GMT (11:00 BST).<\/p>\n
He is due to speak with Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita during his short visit.<\/p>\n
French soldiers have been fighting Islamic militants in the north of the former French colony since 2013.<\/p>\n
Mr Macron – accompanied by Defence Minister Sylvie Goulard and her predecessor, now Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian – will review some of the 4,000 anti-insurgent troops France has deployed in the region.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This is Mr Macron’s second foreign trip as president. He visited German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin a day after his inauguration on Sunday.<\/p>\n
As president, he is expected to continue his predecessor’s policy regarding military presence in West Africa. However, the fact French Development Agency (AFD) chief Remy Riouxhas also joined the visit is seen as a sign he wishes to have an emphasis on economic development as well.<\/p>\n
France retains a strong influence in its former colonies.<\/p>\n
Mr Macron has talked about writing a new page in his country’s relationship on the continent, and of breaking away from the old neo-colonial networks.<\/p>\n
As a candidate, he stirred controversy at home by labelling France’s colonial war in Algeria a crime against humanity – something which was well-received in the former colonies.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Mali to meet French troops, less than a week after his inauguration as president. Mr Macron’s plane touched down at a French airbase in the north of the country just before 10:00 GMT (11:00 BST). He is due to speak with Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita during his short visit. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[3758,7284],"yoast_head":"\n