AA / Paris / Ümit Dönmez
Chad’s surprise decision to denounce its defense agreement with France, announced on November 28, was apparently motivated by a series of security and diplomatic disagreements, according to sources close to the negotiations. Although France said it wanted to “continue the dialogue”, this break marks a turning point in relations between Paris and N’Djamena, historically linked by close military partnerships.
Chadian sources, cited by the French press, mention in particular an episode that occurred last October, when the French army refused to provide air support or intelligence in the face of a major attack by the terrorist group Boko Haram against a Chadian base in the Lake Chad region. This lack of cooperation would have caused “deep frustration”.
During the visit of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, last week, the situation was said to have escalated. The latter would have insisted on the need for Chad to remain “neutral” in regional conflicts. A request which would have been perceived as interference by N’Djamena, especially since the French minister would also have pleaded for a postponement of the legislative and local elections scheduled for December, according to the French press.
The Chadian president, who had expressed his anger at what he considers a lack of respect for the sovereignty of his country, subsequently justified this decision by calling it a “sovereign act” and a response to the obsolescence of an agreement which “no longer corresponds to current geopolitical realities”. During a press briefing, he also denounced a “lack of reciprocity” in Franco-Chadian commitments.
For France, which is gradually reducing its military presence in French-speaking Africa, this rupture takes place in a context of loss of influence. After the departure of its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Paris sees its last strategic anchorage in the Sahel called into question.
However, the spokesperson for the Quai d’Orsay, Christophe Lemoine, assured that Paris intends to “continue the dialogue” with Chad to clarify the terms of withdrawal of French forces, without announcing a precise timetable.
This Chadian decision also comes as Senegal has requested the closure of French military bases on its soil, citing similar reasons of sovereignty.
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