Chadians observe French military vehicles on a trail near Abeche (Eastern Chad) on 15 November 2007 as they patrol and secure the western part of the Darfur border in Chad. – AFP
Chad's decision to terminate military cooperation with France has caught the country's former colonial masters off guard, adding to a string of French setbacks in the Sahel, experts stated on Friday. N'Djamena's declaration of its "decision to end the accord in the field of defence" on Thursday followed a visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, whose delegation seemed unaware of the impending move.
"You could call this a slap in the face," said Wolfram Lacher, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). This announcement by Chad, the last Sahel country to host French troops, came shortly after Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye suggested that France should close its military bases in the West African country.
"First Senegal, then Chad, within 24 hours," Lacher noted. "This demonstrates the failure of France's policy in Africa." The French government responded late Friday, stating that it "takes note" of the announcement.
France has been engaged in nearly two years of discussions and reflection with its partners regarding the reconfiguration of its military presence in Africa, according to foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine. "In this context, we have been in close dialogue with the Chadian authorities, who expressed their wish to see this security and defence cooperation evolve," he said. France will "continue the dialogue to implement this guidance."
France has been planning for years what it termed a "reorganization" of military relations following the forced withdrawal of its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, where regimes hostile to the former colonial power have emerged. On Monday, President Emmanuel Macron's special envoy for Africa, Jean-Marie Bockel, presented a report on reshaping France's military presence in Africa, advocating for a partnership that would be both "renewed" and "co-created."
The report "recommended a drastic reduction" of France's military presence, according to Elie Tenenbaum at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI). However, its conclusions did not satisfy Chad, as they "failed to consider their expectations," said Yamingue Betinbaye, a political analyst in Chad, suggesting this might have prompted Thursday's abrupt announcement.
"Once again, the Africans moved faster than the French," Tenenbaum said, noting that their approach also handed a public relations victory to Russia, which has been expanding its influence in Africa. "Both Chad and Senegal have been intensifying contacts with Russia in recent months," Tenenbaum added. While neither country represents a strategic priority for Moscow, "it's a good way to land a blow against the French."
This blow stings even more given that Macron and Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno had agreed only last month to "strengthen cooperation" between both countries. "A page has been turned" after years of military cooperation, Lacher said, noting that France had "saved" the current president's late father and predecessor, Idriss Deby, "several times" when he was under threat of losing power to rebel offensives.
Lacher said there was "no need whatsoever" for Chad's leader to cancel the arrangement with France, adding: "His position with Paris was comfortable." Analysts suggest recent events highlight France's challenges as it attempts to break free from the deadlock caused by the cancellation of the anti-jihadist contingent Barkhane in the Sahel in 2022, and as it confronts a wave of anti-French sentiment on the continent.
In January, Thierry Burkhard, French armed forces chief, acknowledged that France's military presence in Africa was creating "negative perceptions that end up outweighing the positive effects." France, he recommended, should allow sovereign African partner nations "to communicate about their own actions."
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