After 60 years of colonization and 60 more of the exploitation of African peoples and their capabilities, France is facing an unprecedented rejection of its continued presence in its former colonies.
And here is Mali signing the French exit book, and perhaps Burkina Faso, Chad and other countries in West Africa will follow.
Are we witnessing a hot autumn that will mark the departure of African countries from the worn-out mantle of France, which is humiliating and exploiting Africa?
In recent days, Chadian opposition associations and parties organized a demonstration to demand an end to the French military presence in its territory, and an end to Paris's interference in its internal affairs.
According to the Chadian Ministry of Security, demonstrators destroyed the car service stations of the French company "Total".
The demonstrations lasted for at least 3 days, and included several cities in addition to the capital, N'Djamena, and dozens of people were arrested, including 5 leaders of civil society who participated in the demonstration.
A tank in the center of the Chadian capital, N'Djamena, where protests against the French presence escalated recently (Reuters)
What triggered the protests against France in Chad?
Behind the protests are a number of motives and reasons that do not start with France’s neglect and exploitation of Chad since the beginning of the 20th century and the beginning of colonialism, and do not end with the ambiguity of the current situation and the ambiguity of the future for Chadians, as well as the real and deep fears of French interference.
Among the reasons for the protests are:
Many Chadians viewed France as an evil power rather than an ally.
This stems from their knowledge of France and its exploitative history, both internally and externally.
The continuation of authoritarian military rule in Chad for long periods with the protection of France, as it did in a number of countries in West Africa (France saved the late President Idriss Deby from falling in 2006, 2008 and 2019).
Chadians consider that France is the main supporter of the current military council led by Mohamed Kaka, and they accuse it of having engineered his assumption of power.
The opposition’s conviction that the Military Council and its successor France are buying time and are not serious about the file of dialogue and national reconciliation after it was postponed and requested an extension of the Military Council, which increased the tension.
There are reports of France's intention to establish 5 new bases in Chad in addition to the old bases there.
This was seen as an attempt to compensate for its exit from Mali and the weakness of its presence in Central Africa, which means for Chadians that the suffering is multiplied and prolonged.
Who is behind the protests against France?
The protests are led by a coalition called "Wact Tama", which in Chadian local Arabic means "time is up";
It is a coalition of political parties and civilian groups opposed to the junta backed by broad sectors of Chadians who see the time to get rid of the more than century-old French hegemony, and thus of local military hegemony.
What are the main demands of the demonstrators?
Since the killing of President Deby Sr., the political forces in Chad have tried to keep the army out of control, and demanded that the Speaker of Parliament take over the presidency temporarily as stipulated in the constitution, but everyone was put before the fait accompli of the army’s control of the situation, which the opposition did not agree to, and thus called for:
The first demand is France's exit from Chad, and it summarizes a large number of problems that France has been behind since the colonial period. The slogans of the protests were clear: "France leave" and "No to colonialism."
The main demand at the local level is the rejection of what they call an institutional coup for the military council to take over and its premeditated intention to continue through a dialogue in which it accommodates some of the rebel movements without authorizing the handover of power to an elected civilian government and the return of the army to its barracks.
French President Macron (right) and late Chadian President Idriss Deby (Reuters)
What does Chad mean for France?
Chad is the backbone of the French strategy in Central Africa, an arena open to France's interventions, with and without permission, as well as a springboard for it to monitor the Sahel-Saharan region in Africa.
After independence, Chad was bound by a multilateral military aid agreement involving countries such as Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon.
This agreement gave the French military bases and granted them the absolute right to fly over the country in return for France's defense of these countries and their protection from any external threat.
How big is the French presence in Chad and how is it managed?
France maintained its active military presence in Chad and established a base in the capital, N'Djamena, another in "Abéché" in the east, and another in "Faya Largo" in the north of the country, but after the turmoil that occurred in the Sahel region and the emergence of armed groups, things developed:
In 2013, Chad became the headquarters of the "Multinational Joint Task Force", which included military units from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, especially after the growth of the "Boko Haram" movement.
After the end of Operation Serval, which was launched to fight the jihadist movements in Mali, the long-running Operation Barkhane was launched to confront the armed organizations that the West describes as terrorists, and took N'Djamena as their headquarters and base, which analysts see as a reward for Chad for its active participation in previous operations.
France, along with the United States, highlighted Chad as a new regional military power to be used in its military operations in the region, in return for turning a blind eye to the Chadian government's excesses in electoral fraud and human rights violations.
After its expulsion from Mali, Chad became a central base for the French military presence in Africa, which reinforces the opposition’s accusations of France of its intention to build 5 bases in Chad in light of the frequent reports of serious Russian attempts to enter Chad through a number of fields such as energy and transportation, which reinforces - for France - The importance of closing any entrance to the Russians who are expanding in Africa.
How do we read the current Chadian scene?
The Military Council is betting on time to extend and float the opposition's demands to respond to some of them, which do not affect its continuation in power, taking advantage of France's support because of its need for it to arrange its cards, which began to be scattered at the level of the continent.
In view of this, the Chadian opposition does not have enough internal and external pressure cards in light of the clear exhaustion and weakness of the traditional lines of support from the neighborhood, and because of the external factor that still works for the military council and the army in particular in light of the waves of control of the armies throughout the region.
Chad is one of the least developed, poorest and most corrupt countries in the world, which is explained by the Chadians in their literature that France deliberately prevented modernization, unlike what it did in its other colonies, and saw it as a source of cheap labor and cotton.
As well as imposing and sponsoring repressive, tyrannical regimes in order to achieve their interests without respect for the people, what made the coordinator of the "Wact-Tama" organization say, "France has installed dictators on our heads, and we only ask for respect for our people."