Côte d’Ivoire's President Alassane Ouattara announced the departure of the French army in January in his New Year's address on Tuesday evening.
The French military base of the 43rd Marine Infantry Battalion (MAB) in Port-Bouët, a district of Abidjan, will be transferred to the Ivorian armed forces in January, Ouattara said.
"We can be proud of our army, whose modernization is now effective. t is within this framework that we have decided on the planned and coordinated withdrawal of French forces from Côte d'Ivoire," he said.
The base will be named after General Ouattara Thomas d'Aquin, the first chief of staff of the Ivorian army, the president added.
Approximately 1,000 soldiers had been deployed at the 43rd MAB.