A photograph circulating this week claiming to show French soldiers in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has prompted a firm denial from Paris. The French embassy in Kinshasa clarified that its military personnel are present in the northeastern city solely as trainers, not as a deployed combat force, as part of a long-standing bilateral cooperation agreement.
The embassy stated the French army’s mission involves training Congolese armed forces (FARDC) jungle battalions. This training program, established in 2022, is framed as standard military cooperation and is scheduled to continue until the end of next month. Kisangani was identified as a key location for this initiative due to its status as a major operational hub for the Congolese military’s drone and logistics activities.
This French training effort is not isolated. Belgian forces are concurrently providing instruction to FARDC soldiers under the framework of the European Peace Facility, which supports security sector reform in the country. Furthermore, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) has conducted extensive training. Last year, over 1,000 FARDC personnel received MONUSCO-led instruction focused on civilian protection against armed groups, particularly in the conflict-affected provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu.
The Congolese military (FARDC) faces the significant challenge of combating dozens of armed groups across the expansive eastern region. International training initiatives like these are viewed as critical for enhancing the professional capacity and tactical effectiveness of national forces, aiming to improve security for civilian populations in volatile areas. The explicit confirmation of foreign trainers’ roles and timelines aims to dispel speculation about unilateral military deployments while highlighting a coordinated, multinational approach to capacity-building.
The French training mission’s scheduled conclusion at the end of the coming month marks a defined phase in this bilateral support. The continued presence of various international trainers underscores the persistent international engagement with the DRC’s security challenges, emphasizing a strategy focused on strengthening Congolese forces rather than direct foreign military intervention.
