Senegal’s Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, in a detailed speech on Friday, touched a range of national issues, including the euro-backed CFA franc, oil and gas transactions, and LGBTQ rights.

Firebrand Sonko, who came to prominence in March after his hand-picked presidential candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, won a resounding victory also stressed the potential of closing French military posts in the West African nation.

“More than 60 years after our independence … we must question the reasons why the French army for example still benefits from several military bases in our country and the impact of this presence on our national sovereignty and our strategic autonomy,” Sonko said at a joint conference with the French left-wing politician Jean-Luc Melenchon in the capital Dakar.

“I reiterate here the desire of Senegal to have its own control, which is incompatible with the lasting presence of foreign military bases in Senegal … Many countries have promised defence agreements, but this does not justify the fact that a third of the Dakar region is now occupied by foreign garrisons.”

After driving out French forces, neighbours Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger looked to Russia for assistance in quelling Islamist insurgencies on their own. A commercial is presently playing on the video player. With a mouse or keyboard, you can skip the advertisement in five seconds.

They have also established their alliance with Sahel states and distanced themselves from the West African group ECOWAS, which denounced their coups. However, Sonko spoke kindly to them on Thursday.

“We will not let go of our brothers in the Sahel and we will do everything necessary to strengthen the ties,” he said.

Additionally, he stated that in order to enhance export competitiveness and to absorb shocks, Senegal, which shares the euro-linked CFA franc currency with seven other nations, would prefer a flexible currency pegged to at least two currencies.

Faye had originally promised to do away with the CFA franc during the election campaign, but he later changed his mind. Renegotiation of oil and gas contracts in Senegal, where production is scheduled to start this year, was one of Sonko’s repeated promises.

In addition, he urged Western nations to approach social issues like gender equality and LGBTQ rights with “restraint, respect, reciprocity, and tolerance.” He claimed that although homosexuality had always existed in Senegal, it had always been “managed” by the nation under its sociocultural circumstances and that this would continue.

“Senegal and many other African countries cannot accept any truth in legalising this phenomenon.”