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The mutinies in 2017 revived fears that Ivorian politics might once again be descending into violence, in spite of the Security Sector Reform (SSR) and Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) operations undertaken in the wake of the post-election crisis of 2010–11, which were meant to make it easier for soldiers to return to the army and for ex-combatants to return to civil life. As in the past, the question of the armed forces remains crucial but misunderstood. We present an interview with Bruno Clément-Bollée, who, among other roles, has served as commander of France’s Operation Licorne (2007–8), director of security and defence cooperation at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2010–13), and adviser to the Ivorian director of the Authority for Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (ADDR) (2013–16).