French withdrawal from Afghanistan sooner?

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan could take place sooner than expected. "We have said by the end of December (2012) but I think that it can happen a bit earlier," Fabius told French television BFM-TV Saturday. There are currently about 2,500 French troops in the country, down from 4,000 a year ago, RIA Novosti reported. Eighty-eight French soldiers have died since the country joined the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. "The troops cannot stay forever in Afghanistan. This is not possible for a country to ensure its security from outside. The Afghans must take over," Fabius said. Some French personnel will remain in the country to help remove equipment and training the Afghan army, Fabius said. Fabius arrived Saturday in Kabul to discuss a possible treaty of friendship between France and Afghanistan, BFM reported.