On Thursday, the French armed forces officially handed over their last base in Chad to the country’s military in a strictly military, closed-door ceremony, marking the historic end of their presence in the Sahel nation—nearly 65 years after decolonization and more than 125 years after their initial deployment.

The announcement was made by the general staffs of both countries’ armed forces.

An official ceremony is scheduled to take place later today.

Until recently, around 1,000 French troops were stationed in Chad, a country largely covered by desert.

The handover of the Sergent Adij Kossei base in the capital, N’Djamena, “officially ends the French (military) presence in Chad,” as requested by the country’s political leadership, the French military’s general staff summarized in a statement.

Most of the French military personnel and equipment have already been transferred back to France, according to Colonel Guillaume Vernet, spokesperson for the general staff in Paris. The only remaining items are a few shipping containers, which will be transported to France via land and sea routes by private contractors, he added.

Chad was the last Sahel country where French military forces were still present. At the peak of the anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane, which ended in November 2022, Paris had deployed over 5,000 French troops in the region.

Although Chad ceased to be a French colony in 1960, the French air force continued to operate systematically on its territory, carrying out not only training missions but also combat sorties against both jihadists and rebel groups.

However, in late November, Chad announced the termination of its bilateral military cooperation agreement with France.

Before N’Djamena, four other former French colonies—Niger, Mali, the Central African Republic, and Burkina Faso—had already requested Paris to withdraw its troops after decades of deployment, turning instead to Russia.

According to Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, a military leader who took power in 2021 following the death of his father in combat, the military cooperation agreements with France had become “completely useless” given the “political and geostrategic realities of our time.”

His decision to break ties with France was widely celebrated across the country, sparking demonstrations by young people chanting slogans like “Long live Chad, France out!” in the capital and other cities.

Senegal Also Negotiating French Troop Withdrawal

Senegal is also negotiating the withdrawal of French forces by the end of 2025.

Meanwhile, French military personnel are being reduced in Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon as part of a broader plan to restructure France’s military presence in West and Central Africa.

The French base in Djibouti, which hosts 1,500 military personnel, remains unaffected. Paris aims to turn it into a “power projection hub” for executing “missions” across Africa following the forced withdrawal of its troops from Sahel bases.

Chad’s Political Landscape and Regional Conflicts

Chad, a vast, impoverished, landlocked Sahel nation, is undergoing a political transition after the 2021 coup that brought General Déby to power. His rule was later formalized through the April 2024 presidential elections, the legitimacy of which remains disputed. Parliamentary elections, boycotted by the opposition, further cemented his grip on power at the end of last year.

Currently, Chad faces attacks from the jihadist group Boko Haram in its northeastern region while also hosting thousands of refugees fleeing the ongoing war in neighboring Sudan.

N’Djamena denies accusations of interfering in Sudan’s internal affairs.

On January 8, a firefight outside the presidential palace in N’Djamena—described by authorities as an “attack” aimed at assassinating the head of state—left 20 people dead: 18 assailants and two members of the presidential guard.

In Chad, as well as in Senegal and Burkina Faso, recent remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron about the “ingratitude” of African nations toward French military assistance against jihadists have sparked widespread outrage.