In January 2006, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was deployed to Afghanistan to assist the US and British forces in their fight against the Islamist paramilitary Taliban. The US government accused the Taliban of harboring the head of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and demanded his extradition. The Taliban leadership refused to comply with this demand, saying that the United States did not provide evidence of Osama's guilt in the 9/11/2001 attacks.
By the end of 2001, the military structure of the Taliban was practically destroyed, and the resistance of its supporters took on the character of a guerrilla movement. Western countries have invested heavily in the development of democracy and the social structure of Afghanistan. In 2004, the country's first presidential election was won by Hamid Karzai, a politician who is loyal enough to the West. However, the resistance of Taliban supporters failed to be suppressed. The guerrillas fought fiercely despite the overwhelming military superiority of the ISAF.
France, like other members of the alliance, suffered losses in equipment and manpower. During the 10 years of the war in Afghanistan, 83 soldiers were killed and several times more wounded. The decision to involve France in the military operation was not very popular among the population, and reports of casualties among French soldiers increased discontent with the government.
On 20 January 2012, in Kapisa province, a man in an Afghan army uniform shot 4 and wounded 16 French soldiers. After that, Nicolas Sarkozy (French President from 2007 to 2012) said that since the Afghan government cannot guarantee the safety of French troops, France is suspending its military presence in that country. Sarkozy promised to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by early 2014.
In 2012, François Hollande was elected President of France, who announced a new plan to withdraw from Afghanistan. 2000 servicemen will be withdrawn by the end of 2012, 1400 remain as instructors and to guard social facilities. The President explained his decision by the fact that the danger from terrorists has diminished, democracy has grown stronger, and the country must develop independently. The head of the republic promised that France would continue to support Afghanistan, but in a different form.
