Chad has been a key link in France's military presence in Africa and its last foothold in the Sahel after the forced withdrawal of troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger after a series of military coups.
That foothold looked weaker, however, after Chad chose the anniversary of its November 28, 1958 proclamation of a republic on Thursday to announce it was scrapping military cooperation with Paris, just hours after a visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
The announcement also came a month ahead of legislative elections on December 29
"The government of the Republic of Chad informs national and international opinion of its decision to end the accord in the field of defence signed with the French republic," Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said in a statement.
Kolulamallah insisted, that "this is not a break with France like Niger or elsewhere" with about 1,000 French troops still in the country and France remaining "an essential partner."
"Chad has grown up, matured and is a sovereign state," he said.
The move came as a surprise. Chad was "open to a constructive dialogue to explore new partnership forms," Kolulamallah said.
"It is time for Chad to affirm its full and total sovereignty and redefine its strategic partnerships according to its national priorities," the minister went on.
The timing of the announcement was striking as Barrot had just left following a meeting with Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno on the Sudanese border.
There, Itno had appealed for cooperation to move beyond the traditional security aspect towards greater "diversification" of bilateral links, according to an account by Chad state television Friday.
Deby's father, killed by rebels three years ago, frequently relied on French military support to fend off rebel offensives, including in 2008 and 2019.
Such threats persist in a nation bordering the Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya and Niger, all of which host Russian paramilitary forces from the Wagner group.
- What was suspended ? -
A defence accord signed on September 5, 2019, updated a 1976 agreement which built on 1960 texts in the aftermath of independence and dealt notably with creating Chadian armed forces and the country's logistical capacity as well as building up military intelligence.
- Why now?
"This is a strong signal for Chad's foreign policy which the head of state is putting forward... as if to say sovereignty is henceforth total," according to Chad state television.
For opposition media Tchad One, however, "the reasons behind this decision remain hazy".
"Is it a populist manoeuvre by a government confronted with growing criticism over its legitimacy? (Or) pressure exerted by new strategic partners who wish to redefine geopolitical influence in the region?
"Or is it .... a 'carefully considered' decision seeking to confirm Chad's independance in the realms of defence and security?"
Next month's legislative polls will be Chad's first in 13 years. Opposition parties are refusing to participate, protesting at what they call a "dictatorial climate."
Opposition figurehead Succes Masra sees the polls as a "masquarade" and has criticised France for backing Deby Itno.
- Remaining French presence -
France will now have a 1,000-strong rump of a military presence in Chad spread out across three bases at a time when Russian influence in the Sahel has risen amid closer relations with juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has also called on France this week to close its bases, also for national sovereignty reasons.
'Slap in the face': Chad stuns France with goodbye
Paris (AFP) Nov 29, 2024 -
Chad's announcement that it is ending military cooperation with France wrongfooted the African country's former colonial masters, adding to a series of French setbacks in the Sahel, experts said Friday.
N'Djamena's statement declaring its "decision to end the accord in the field of defence" on Thursday came only hours after a visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, whose delegation appeared unaware the move was looming.
"You could describe this as a slap in the face," said Wolfram Lacher, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).
The announcement by Chad -- the last Sahel country to host French troops -- came shortly after Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye told AFP in an interview that France should close its military bases in the West African country.
"First Senegal, then Chad, within 24 hours," Lacher said. "That shows the failure of France's policy in Africa."
The French government said late Friday that it "takes note" of the announcement.
"France has been holding nearly two years of talks and reflection with our partners on the reconfiguration of our military presence in Africa," said foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine.
"In that context, we have been in close dialogue with the Chadian authorities, who announced their desire to see this security and defence cooperation evolve."
France will "pursue a dialogue in order to put this guidance into effect", he added.
France has been preparing for years what it called a "reorganisation" of military relations after the forced departure of its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where regimes hostile to the ex-colonial power have taken hold.
On Monday, President Emmanuel Macron's special envoy for Africa, Jean-Marie Bockel, submitted him a report on reshaping France's military presence in Africa, calling for a partnership that was to be both "renewed" and "co-created".
The report "recommended a drastic reduction" of France's military presence, noted Elie Tenenbaum, at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI).
- 'Faster than the French' -
But its conclusions left Chad dissatisfied, because they "failed to take into account their expectations", said Yamingue Betinbaye, a political analyst in Chad, adding it might have triggered Thursday's abrupt announcement.
"Once again, the Africans moved faster than the French," said Tenenbaum, adding that their method had 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 said.
While neither country represents a strategic priority for Moscow, "it's a good way to land a blow against the French".
A blow that stings all the 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, said Lacher, 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 had been "no need whatsoever" for Chad's leader to cancel the arrangement with France, adding: "His position with Paris was comfortable."
Analysts say recent events point to France's difficulties as it seeks to emerge from the deadlock created by its cancellation of the anti-jihadist contingent Barkhane in the Sahel in 2022, and as it faces 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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