N'djamena — "A move yet to be interpreted that in any case has taken everyone by surprise" local sources in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, told Fides after the announcement that the local government intends to end the military treaty with France.

"The government of the Republic of Chad informs national and international public opinion of the decision to end the defence cooperation agreement signed with the French Republic, revised on 5 September 2019," says the statement from the Chadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published last night, 28 November. A symbolic date given that it is the Feast of the Proclamation of the Republic and just a few hours before the visit of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, to Chad. A decision "taken after deep reflection" that "marks a historic milestone," underlines the statement.

"After 66 years since the proclamation of the Republic of Chad, the time has come for Chad to assert its full and complete sovereignty and to redefine its strategic partners in accordance with national priorities." The fate of the thousand or so French troops stationed in the country is currently unknown.

"Chad, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, undertakes to respect the conditions laid down for its termination, including the notice period, and to cooperate with the French authorities to ensure a harmonious transition," says the government of N'Djamena.

Finally, the Chadian authorities assure that they wish to continue to maintain "constructive relations with France in other areas of common interest." A formulation that seems to exclude (or at least strongly reduce) the defense sector, which until now was the cornerstone of the relationship between N'Djamena and Paris. Chad was the last bastion of the French military presence in Sahelian Africa after the expulsion of the French military by the military juntas of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

The N'Djamena government, which received support from the French military to repel rebel offensives in 2008 and 2019, has initiated defence contacts with other powers, including Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Russia. The United States has also long maintained important military relations with Chad.

It also plans to send at least 200 soldiers to help Chad control its borders. In the same hours of the Chadian announcement, the president of Senegal (one of the pillars of the French military presence in West Africa), Bassirou Diomaye Faye, declared to Agence France Press that the presence of French military bases on the territory of his country is incompatible with national sovereignty.