France wants to adapt its deployment of troops in Africa to respond more effectively to the needs of the continent, President Jacques Chirac said on Thursday during a visit to the West African country of Senegal. The president gave no details about what kind of changes he envisaged but said he had asked the army to draw up proposals. France has around 16,000 troops deployed in Africa. "Without any doubt, it would be better to take into account the expectations of the African Union," Chirac said during a visit to a French military base in Senegal's capital Dakar, where around 1,120 French troops are stationed. "It is probably also necessary to better adapt our presence on the ground, with a plan tuned to the sub-regions," he said. For decades, France was known as the "gendarme of Africa" -- sending troops to solve crises across its former colonies. But it has taken a back seat on the continent since its intervention in Rwanda in 1994 failed to halt genocide. --More 2340 Local Time 2040 GMT
