If you want to frame your outrage, Africa is a continent. This is mainly about Mali and its fight against Al Qaida/ISIS.
France sent troops in with UN support in 2013 after a plea for help from the Malinese government (1)
That government was overthrown by the "National Committee for the Salvation of the People" very recently (2) so it's hard to say what the future holds, and if they should remain there. Most of the west (including the US) is not too excited about the new leadership though.