French soldiers are still stationed in Mali. In fact the war of 2012 hasn't ended, only toned down basically to guerilla warfare and sporadic attacks, but no light at the end of the tunnel for now. The countries involved - called the G5 - in the region are: Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad. The plus one is France, who has over 5000 soldiers in these countries. The enemy consists of Islamist armed groups, including the largest an al-Qaeda offshoot group - the "al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb" - and ISIS itself.
Anti-French sentiments are getting stronger in Mali, these days - after the coup - some protesters demand the French troops to leave. And France's, Macron's plan coincides, they want the local troops to take over the bulk of the heavy lifting so French troops can return home (which is already scheduled). It's like the Vietnamisation was in the Vietnam War. Will France manage better?
Btw other countries were involved in the conflict, like Germany, Sweden, Estonia, and China. And ofc more African ones.
The main divide between ethnicities in this equation is the Tuaregs and Arabs vs negers. By 2013 Tuaregs are out of the conflict. Btw about 90% of the population is Muslim.