French garrison cuts threatened up to half of Djibouti’s GDP

Evidence

In April, France announced that it would be scaling down its garrison of legionnaires from a strength of 3,500 to 2,600. There would be a continuing small naval flotilla and a half squadron of Mirage 2000s. Since the French presence accounted for between 33 and 50 per cent of GDP, the importance of these changes was considerable. The Djibouti government proposed to cut its civil service, while the railway was receiving a long overdue overhaul. Reflecting these economic austerities, what the government described as an attempt to ‘organize a civil disobedience movement’ led to 16 military officers (several high-ranking) receiving suspended prison sentences. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 671

Categorization

• QUESTION: The 33-50 per cent GDP figure for French presence is striking; worth verifying how much of that is basing fees versus related services.
• XREF: connects to: State GDP differences drive disparate military spending capacity — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 555