French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced the phased withdrawal of its 4,000 soldiers serving in Afghanistan.
A statement said the French would follow the timetable of US withdrawals announced by President Barack Obama.
Mr Obama said 10,000 US troops would pull out this year, with another 23,000 leaving by the end of September 2012.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed the move, but the Taliban dismissed it as "symbolic" and vowed to continue fighting until all foreign forces left.
At least 68,000 US troops will remain in the country after the 33,000 have been withdrawn, but they are scheduled to leave by 2013, provided that Afghan forces are ready to take over security.
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