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Did you know that France ruled Chad for almost one hundred and twenty years? It wasn't officially of course. But, with the help of its military, France was able to maintain control over Chad and its leaders. This is why it came as a shock to everyone that at a time when the other countries in the Sahel turned their backs on France, Chad, France’s strongest ally in the Sahel decided to kick France out. It was a huge blow to France and President Macron. However, not only did Chad celebrate the departure of French troops, the President of Chad recently made shocking revelations about France's presence in the country. So, what did he reveal? Let's find out.
January 31st, 2025 was a historic day for Chad. On this day, France lowered their flag from their base in Chad, officially marking the end of its military presence in the country. According to the reports, the troops had been in Chad for the past 70 years. French troops officially arrived in N'djamena, Chad’s capital to train the country’s young military during independence in 1960. However, France decided to stay, claiming France wanted to support Chad's air force against rebels. It stationed troops in N'djamena claiming it was helping Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to fight militant groups and terrorists operating within Sahel states.
But what went on over the next decades had absolutely nothing to do with fighting militant groups. Analysts of France's relationship with Chad, have pointed out that France's presence has more to do with maintaining a sense of control rather than combating insecurity. In our opinion, this is the truth. The French military has been in Chad for over 70 years with its superior intelligence and power. This means that the French military was there when the insurgency first started. They were there when the jihadist group in small numbers began to wreak havoc with their limited weapons and intelligence. The question is “If France was truly there to fight insecurity, why couldn't France have stopped the insurgency at its earliest stage?