Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.
Since taking office in May, French President Emmanuel Macron has been an enthusiastic champion of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, which brings together soldiers from Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Mali to combat militant groups and drug and human trafficking.
His efforts have involved publicly pressuring the United States to do more to support the force; his defense minister, Florence Parly, made the case directly during a visit to Washington in October. But while American officials have pledged up to $60 million, they have resisted granting the force direct funding from the United Nations.