Chad, the last Sahelian country to host French forces, announced on November 28, 2024 “ terminate the defense cooperation agreement signed with ” Paris ” revised as of September 5, 2019 “. A surprise announcement, which came a few hours after a visit to Ndjamena and Adré by the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Noël Barrot. Details.
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In France, this announced breakup took everyone by surprise. “ We fell out of the wardrobe », whisper high-ranking officers stationed in Paris. Because the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, present the day before at the Chadwas not informed orally of this change of heart, underlines Franck Alexandre. Decision published on the Chadian Foreign Affairs website only once he was on the plane.
President Emmanuel Macron was not called by Mahamat Idriss Déby either. It is not excluded that his hand was forced, in any case, specifies a high-ranking observer: “ The decision surprised everyone, including Déby’s inner circle. » Consequently, vagueness predominates.
“ There is a certain excitement in Parisian offices “, say several officers modestly: the presidency, the prime minister’s office, the army general staff and the intelligence services, are in reality this Friday morning in turmoil, with a crisis meeting, a defense council organized urgently at the ‘Élysée to understand where the blow came from.
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There were no comments the day before following the meeting between Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby and Jean-Noël Barrot. Nothing in the attitude of the French delegation suggested that such a strong announcement would be made by Ndjamena. On the other hand, this morning, everyone in the minister’s entourage seems taken by surprise.
Note, however, that yesterday, after this meeting between the Chadian head of state and the French minister, there was a joint statement from the two foreign ministers. Jean-Noël Barrot did not raise the subject. On the other hand, his counterpart, Abderaman Koulamallah, indicated that France is an essential partner, but he added that France must consider that Chad has grown, has matured, and is a sovereign state, very jealous of its sovereignty. A sentence which, in hindsight, takes on its full dimension.
“ What are the thousand French soldiers for? ? »
In the capital of Chad, for many Ndjamenois, this decision is “ the sign that the country’s top authorities have heard the people and their will “.
The vast majority of Chadians that our correspondent Nadia Ben Mahfoudh were able to meet this Friday morning in the streets of Ndjamena are very happy to hear the news. Many welcome this decision: “ We will finally free ourselves from France. »
Others explain that they have been waiting a long time for French military forces to leave their territory. Above all, they say they are disappointed not to have seen the French soldiers support their army in their fights against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region a few weeks ago. “ What good are the thousand French soldiers if they don’t support us when we need them? », asks one of them.
A student of military history of defense and security also says: “ Chad is an independent country and free to choose to establish relations with the countries of its choice. »
It is therefore the rapprochement with Russia that is uppermost in people’s minds. However, some voices say they are worried about the end of these agreements and are afraid of seeing the French presence replaced by a Russian presence. But these voices were rare in the capital.
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