France Quietly Restores Military Ties with Chad

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: Agencies

23 Jul 2026 17:09

France and Chad are rebuilding military ties through training, intelligence support and air cooperation after French troops left the country in 2025.

France and Chad are rebuilding military cooperation around training, intelligence and limited deployments, nearly 18 months after N'Djamena ordered French forces to leave amid tensions over security and intelligence-sharing in the Lake Chad Basin.

French personnel returned to Chad in April as the two countries began reshaping their military relationship. The renewed cooperation is expected to focus on helping Chadian forces address threats from Boko Haram and the Islamic State West African Province in the Lake Chad region, while also responding to security concerns along Chad's eastern border with Sudan.

The arrangement does not envisage the return of permanent French military bases in Chad. Instead, France is seeking a more limited role that would allow it to provide military support while relying more heavily on Chadian political consent.

“Chadian observers regard this rapprochement as reflecting a mutual desire to preserve channels of security and military cooperation, while accounting for the political and regional shifts that have reshaped the nature of relations between France and a number of Sahel states in recent years,” analyst Hassan Yusuf Zarma wrote recently for The Brown Land, an independent Sudanese news site.

France returns through a new military cooperation model

“France is trying to rebuild military cooperation with Chad, but not in the old format,” analyst Aleksander Olech wrote for Defense24. “This is not a full French comeback in Chad. It is a cautious attempt to return through the side door, with fewer soldiers, less visibility and more dependence on Chadian political consent.”

The new arrangement marks a shift from the military relationship that existed before Chad expelled around 1,000 French soldiers in January 2025, as anti-French sentiment spread across the Sahel. The withdrawal brought an end to 65 years of French military presence in the country, although French officials said at the time that military cooperation with Chad would not necessarily end.

Following the French withdrawal, Chad sought assistance from Russia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but encountered difficulties with each of the three potential partners, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.

Russia's Africa Corps failed to convince Chadian leaders after its mercenaries were unable to suppress insurgencies in Mali. Meanwhile, Turkish ANKA-S and Aksungur attack drones supplied by Turkish Aerospace Industries in 2024 reportedly proved too costly for Chad to operate. UAE support for Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), including alleged assistance through an airport on Chadian territory, also complicated relations, although the UAE denies supporting the RSF.

Air support and intelligence emerge as priorities

As France rebuilds its relationship with Chad, air support is expected to be one of the first areas of cooperation, according to Olech.

“Since the French departure, Chad has struggled with rapid medical evacuation, air support for ground forces and intelligence collection. These are exactly the areas where French assistance previously mattered,” Olech wrote.

The cooperation is also expected to cover military training, exercises and intelligence gathering. The two countries have additionally discussed the possibility of Chad purchasing French helicopters and aircraft as N'Djamena seeks to strengthen its military capabilities.

The revised arrangement could also provide France with access to conduct air operations from its former Sergeant Adji Kosseï base in N'Djamena. The facility was the final French base handed over to Chad during the 2025 withdrawal.

“This would give Paris a useful point of support in central Africa without reproducing the old base model that became politically toxic in the Sahel,” Olech wrote.