Chad Accuses Macron of Contempt Over Comments on African Leaders
Chad’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Abderaman Koulamallah, has criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for remarks suggesting African leaders had “forgotten to say thank you” to France for its military efforts against jihadist insurgencies in the Sahel.
“The government of the Republic of Chad expresses deep concern over recent comments by the French President, which reflect a contemptuous attitude towards Africa and Africans,” Koulamallah stated in a message broadcast on state television.
While affirming that Chad had “no problem” with France, Koulamallah emphasized that French leaders “must learn to respect Africans.” He highlighted Africa’s significant contributions to France during both World Wars, noting that these efforts have never been fully acknowledged.
He also argued that France’s decades-long presence in Chad was primarily driven by its own strategic interests, with limited benefits for the development of the Chadian people.
At the end of November, Chad terminated its defence and security agreements with France, calling them “obsolete.” This decision marked the end of France’s last military bases in the Sahel, with about 1,000 French troops currently being withdrawn from the country.
Macron’s remarks were made earlier on Monday during a speech to France’s diplomatic corps, where he asserted that no country in the Sahel would have retained sovereignty without France’s 2013 intervention in Mali. That operation aimed to counter a jihadist offensive and later expanded to include troop deployments in neighboring countries.
France, however, has since been forced to reconfigure its military presence in Africa after being expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, countries now governed by juntas hostile to Paris.
Senegal and Ivory Coast have also requested the closure of French military bases on their territories. Senegal’s Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, condemned Macron’s comments as “ungratefulness” and rejected claims that France’s military withdrawal from Senegal was the result of mutual negotiations.
“France neither has the capacity nor the legitimacy to ensure Africa’s security or sovereignty,” Sonko stated on social media. He also dismissed Macron’s remarks as “completely false,” asserting that Senegal’s decision to remove French forces was made independently as a sovereign nation.
