France handed over control of its last major military facility in Senegal on Thursday, marking the end of its armed forces' long presence in the West African country and a milestone in a withdrawal from the wider region.

Senegal’s new government has taken a hard-line stance against the presence of French troops as part of a larger regional backlash against what many see as the legacy of an oppressive colonial empire.V

France returned Camp Geille, its largest base in Senegal, and its airfield at Dakar’s airport in a ceremony on Thursday attended by top French and Senegalese officials, including Senegalese Chief of the General Staff Mbaye Cisse and General Pascal Ianni, the head of the French forces in Africa.