IVORY COAST troops took over the last remaining French army base in the country today, as the former colonial power withdraws forces across west Africa.

But Defence Minister Tene Birahima Ouattara said 80 French soldiers will stay behind to advise and train the Ivorian military.

“The world is changing and changing fast,” Mr Ouattara said in a joint press conference with French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu.