President Obama: "America, it is time to focus on nation-building at home"
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At least 68,000 US troops will remain in the country after the 33,000 have been withdrawn, but they are scheduled to leave by 2013, provided that Afghan forces are ready to take over security.
However the US reductions just announced are larger and faster than military commanders had advised.
They told the president that the recent security gains were fragile and reversible, and had urged him to keep troop numbers high until 2013.
Correspondents say the enormous cost of the deployment - currently more than $2bn (�1.25bn) a week - has attracted criticism from Congressional leaders, while the public are weary of a war that seems to have no end and has left at least 1,500 personnel dead and 12,000 wounded.
There have also been changes on the ground, notably the killing in May of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden by US forces in Pakistan.
'Tide of war receding'Mr Sarkozy's announcement came shortly after that of Mr Obama's, and followed a telephone discussion between the two leaders on Wednesday, said the Elysee Palace - the presidential office - in a statement.
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End QuoteThis is a moment when President Obama can do what was unthinkable two years ago. He can defy the Pentagon. Early in his presidency it would have been too risky to ignore military advice.?
The withdrawal of the approximately 4,000 serving French troops would be progressive and would take place "in a proportional manner and in a timeframe similar to the pullback of the American reinforcements", it said, beginning in the coming months.
The French president "stressed that France shared the American analysis and objectives and that it was happy with President Obama's decision".
Mr Obama's announcement, after a month-long strategy review, outlined the exit of the forces he sent to the country at the end of 2009 as part of a "surge".
In his speech, he said he had set clear objectives for the surge in December 2009 - to refocus on al-Qaeda, to reverse the Taliban's momentum, and train Afghan security forces to defend their own country.
His administration also stated the commitment would not be open-ended and that the withdrawal would begin in July 2011, he added.
"After this initial reduction our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support."
Analysis
The US may be setting a timetable for withdrawing its forces, but there are many questions over the first phase of the security transition. In the past few weeks, insurgents have launched what Afghan intelligence officials say is a carefully planned wave of attacks in all of the areas to be handed over by Nato.
In Panjshir, insurgents tried to detonate a car full of explosives but it blew up before it could reach its target. On Tuesday, the influential governor of Parwan province, Abdul Basir Salangi, a close ally of President Karzai, survived an assassination attempt. In the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, a bomb explosion injured two civilians.
In some areas, insurgents have blockaded cities and towns, leaving thousands short of food and medicines.
Afghanistan's police and army are still dependent on coalition forces for air support, food, ammunition and roadside bomb-clearing. In addition, they have high rates of desertion and drug addiction, as well as "rogue" soldiers - there have been a number of incidents in which men in uniform have turned their weapons on Nato and Afghan colleagues.
The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says the speech was all about reassuring the American public that the "tide of war" was receding.
Six thousand Americans have died in Iraq and Afghanistan and $1 trillion has been spent.
The initial withdrawal is expected to happen in two phases, with 5,000 troops coming home in coming months and another 5,000 by the end of the year.
The remainder of the surge reinforcements - 20,000 combat troops and an 3,000 deployed to support the operation - will be out by the end of September 2012, in time for the US presidential election.
Our correspondent says this is a quicker pace than most analysts predicted, and suggests the president does not feel he needs to leave the bulk of the surge force in place for another fighting season.
Administration officials told the New York Times that the US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, had not endorsed the decision. He recommended limiting initial withdrawals and leaving in place as many combat forces for as long as possible, they said.
Outgoing Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reluctantly accepted the reductions, the officials added.
Serious doubts remain about whether Afghan forces will be up to the task.
But President Karzai welcomed Mr Obama's announcement as "a good step for their benefit and the people of Afghanistan".
"I want the people of Afghanistan to be safe in their country with their own capable means," Mr Karzai said.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-us-canada-13887033
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