Chad: the French army disarmed and humiliated

A new misadventure has raised concerns about French military cooperation in Africa.The French army finds itself once again in a delicate situation, recalling the setbacks previously experienced in Mali and Burkina. A French military contingent on a mission in Chad was stopped and disarmed by Chadian forces near the Adré military base, according to a Chadian press report.

The images of these soldiers, forced to get out of their vehicle and wait while checks were carried out, went around social networks, causing a stir in France and around the world.Officials at the Adré military base had not been informed of this French mission according to the press, which quotes Chadian sources. The French soldiers were probably heading towards the Sudanese border, in order to support the Chadian army in conflict with the forces of General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo.

This situation raised questions and recalled the French military setbacks in West Africa. The incident indeed occurs after the withdrawal of the last French soldiers from Mali in August 2022, where around 3,000 soldiers are still deployed in the main countries of the Sahelo-Saharan strip.

This incident provoked a reaction from the French general staff. The soldiers were able to resume their journey after the necessary checks. However, this misadventure calls into question French military cooperation in Africa.Images of the incident, widely shared on social media, were described as "discouraging for French military cooperation in Africa" by a French journalist.

“Distressing images for French military cooperation in Africa. In Chad, on June 8, a senior officer of the Chadian national army armed with a Kalashnikov had a group of French soldiers on a reconnaissance mission immobilized and disarmed. »

At a time when the French military presence and intervention in Africa are already widely debated, this incident only reinforces questions about the relevance and effectiveness of these interventions.Recently, voices have been raised against this presence. An idea that resonated with Chadian youth, as Abdoulaye Nabaloum, president of the Confederation of Pan-African Associations and Movements of West Africa (CAMPAO), recently explained to Sputnik.

According to Abdoulaye Nabaloum, like the governments of Mali and Burkina Faso who wanted and obtained the departure of the French army, the youth of several other countries are putting pressure on governments to get rid of French imperialism.“Today, the case of Senegal where there are demonstrations, is an example. The case of Niger, where indeed the youth demands day by day, more and more, the departure of French soldiers. It is also at the level of Chad, where young people are increasingly demanding the departure of French military bases, ”he said.