By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
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DJIBOUTI, 4 November 2026 Djibouti has taken back 40% of France’s naval base on Héron Island at a ceremony held in Djibouti City on Monday.
Interim Defence Minister Omar Abdi Said received the base from French Ambassador Jérôme Bresson.
The handover ceremony took place at the General Staff Headquarters of the Djiboutian Armed Forces, in the presence of Chief of General Staff Gen. Zakaria Cheick Ibrahim and senior officers from both the Djiboutian forces and French forces stationed in the country.
The handover was carried out in accordance with the Defence Cooperation Treaty between the two countries. Ahead of the handover, French forces in Djibouti and the Djiboutian army jointly carried out technical studies to prepare for the return of this part of the base.
The return of this part of the base was one of the main conditions of the new defence treaty signed in Paris on 24 July 2024 by Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Ismail Omar Guelleh.
According to documents from the French Parliament, the continued presence of French forces in Djibouti was conditional on the return of land they occupy, in particular 40% of Héron Island. The French Parliament ratified the treaty in June 2025.
The new treaty also increased the annual rent France pays for its base in Djibouti from €30 million to €85 million.
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Héron Island, located in the north of Djibouti City, has hosted France’s naval base since 2002.
Djibouti has long sought to reclaim the Héron land. The government wanted the entire area turned into an upmarket business district, while France wanted to keep its base at the tip of the island.
The French Senate said returning 40% of the island would not affect military operations, as the areas being handed over are mostly housing zones that will be relocated.
French forces in Djibouti, numbering more than 1,450 troops, form France’s largest permanent military base abroad.
The base has grown in importance since France was forced to withdraw its troops from several African countries. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger ordered French forces to leave, and Chad and Senegal later also decided to end the French military presence.
Djibouti is now the only place in Africa where French forces have not been affected by those decisions.