PREVIEW
France’s exit from the Sahel region speeds up as N’djamena ends its defence cooperation agreement with Paris
Chad’s decision to end its military cooperation deal with France is another major blow to France which had been actively courting President Mahamat Idriss Déby aka ‘Kaka’ to maintain its deployment of around 1,000 troops in the country (AC Vol 65 No 22, From Abu Dhabi with Dirham).
France ‘must now also consider that Chad has grown up, matured and is a sovereign state that is very jealous of its sovereignty,’ said Chadian foreign minister Abderaman Koulamallah, in a statement on 28 November.
The ministry added that Chad would ‘respect the modalities of the termination including the necessary deadlines and will collaborate with French authorities to ensure a harmonious transition’ but did not give a deadline for the withdrawal of French troops.
The announcement was made hours after France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, concluded a visit to Chad. It also the clearest signal yet that Déby intends to make a broader shift away from the west by instead strengthening ties with Russia, whose mercenary group Wagner has a major presence across the Sahel, and the United Arab Emirates.
France’s retreat across the Sahel region is speeding up. President Emmanuel Macron’s Africa envoy, Jean-Marie Bockel, has put together proposals on how France could reduce its long-standing military presence in Gabon and Côte d'Ivoire (AC Vol 65 No 20, Nguema’s expensive balancing act).
Meanwhile, Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said last week in an interview with French TV that it was inappropriate for French troops to maintain a presence in his country but did not say whether this amounted to a request for them to leave.
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