France officially ended its military presence in Chad on Thursday, handing over its last remaining base in the capital, N’Djamena, to Chadian authorities. The withdrawal marks the conclusion of more than six decades of French military presence in the country and comes two months after Chad’s government terminated its defense cooperation agreement with Paris.
The formal transfer of the Kossei military base was conducted in a ceremony attended by military officials from both nations. “The Kossei camp was handed over today to the Chadian army,” Colonel Guillaume Vernet, spokesperson for the French armed forces’ general staff, said in a statement.
The withdrawal, which was finalized ahead of a January 31 deadline set by Chad, follows the departure of French troops from two other military bases in Faya-Largeau and Abeche in late December and early January, respectively.
At the time of Chad’s decision to end its military agreement with France in November 2023, approximately 1,000 French troops were stationed in the country. Their presence had been part of broader French counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel, where France had previously maintained a significant military footprint through Operation Barkhane. However, recent years have seen a wave of French military expulsions from the region, with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger all severing defense ties with Paris following military coups and shifting alliances toward Russia.
Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno defended the decision to remove French troops, stating that the defense agreements had become “completely obsolete” in the face of evolving political and geopolitical realities. The Chadian government, while emphasizing its commitment to maintaining diplomatic and economic relations with France, framed the withdrawal as a necessary step toward redefining the country’s strategic partnerships and reinforcing national sovereignty.
France’s military exit from Chad represents another setback for its broader influence in Africa. Over the past two years, an estimated 4,000 French troops have been withdrawn from the Sahel, as anti-French sentiment grows across the region. Military-led governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have moved closer to Moscow, with Russian mercenaries, including those from the Wagner Group, filling the security vacuum left by departing French forces.
Despite the closure of its bases in Chad, France retains a military presence in other African nations, albeit on a reduced scale. French forces remain stationed in Djibouti, where a base hosting 1,500 troops is being developed as a future launchpad for military operations on the continent. Meanwhile, France is negotiating a phased withdrawal of its forces from Senegal by 2025 and scaling back its presence in Ivory Coast and Gabon.
The broader decline of French military influence in Africa has drawn sharp reactions from Paris. In a recent speech, French President Emmanuel Macron lamented that African countries had “forgot to say thank you” for France’s military efforts in the region, particularly its decade-long campaign against Islamist insurgents.
While France’s military presence in Chad has officially ended, its economic and cultural influence in the country, and across Francophone Africa, remains significant. The use of the French language, economic ties through the CFA franc, and deep-rooted institutional connections ensure that France will likely continue to play a role in Chad’s affairs for years to come.
