Francois Hollande has landed in the Malian town of Timbuktu, making a triumphant visit six days after French forces parachuted in to liberate it from the rule of al-Qaida-linked militants.
The French launched their military operation to oust the extremists three weeks ago, and have since taken back the three main northern cities ruled by the rebels for about 10 months.
French president Mr Hollande indicated on Friday that during his visit to the former colony he would discuss the reduction of troop levels on the ground to make way for an African force, led by Mali. He said his visit aims to encourage "the Africans (to) come join us as quickly as possible and to say that we need this international force".
Mr Hollande, who was accompanied by France's foreign and defence ministers, first headed to the Djingareyber mosque in Timbuktu. Dignitaries were waiting to greet him at the mosque, which was built between 1325 and 1326. Crowds shouted "Vive la France" and "Vive Francois Hollande" as he passed them.
"If I could have one wish, it would be that the French army stays in the Sahara, that they create a base here," said Moustapha Ben Essayati, one of those who showed up to greet the French delegation. I'm really scared that if they leave, the jihadists will come back. If France had not intervened in Konna, we would no longer be talking about Mali," he said.
Around 800 French forces took part in the effort to free Timbuktu, including hundreds of paratroopers who parachuted on to nearby dunes.
Radical militants had seized the town last April, once a popular tourist destination and revered centre of Islamic learning. They began implementing a strict form of Islamic law known as Shariah, amputating the hand of a suspected thief and whipping women and girls who ventured into public without veils in scenes reminiscent of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
"We have just spent 10 months in hell. Everything that demarcates the liberty of man was forbidden to us. We couldn't smoke, we couldn't listen to music, we couldn't wear the clothes we wanted to wear," Ben Essayati said.
France now has 3,500 troops taking part in the Mali operation, in which they are working with Malian soldiers and preparing the way for an African military contingent to help stabilise the vast country. The French-led intervention so far has rapidly forced the retreat of militants out of urban centres in Mali's north, which had been under the extremists' control.
Mr Hollande said that another goal of his visit was to push Malian leaders to enter a political dialogue, but he did not elaborate. Part of the reason the armed extremists were able to grab control of Mali's north was because of a coup last March that threw the once-peaceful country into turmoil.
UK 
