French military forces in N’Djamena, Chad. Credit: Flickr/USarmyAfrica (CC BY 2.0)
Last week, Chad and Senegal moved toward the removal of French military bases from their countries. In a speech that took place the same day the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a French foreign minister, the Chadian official emphasized the sovereignty of the nation and that it had “grown up.” Chad has historically been close to France and other Western institutions such as the World Bank, and is the last military stronghold for France in Africa’s Sahel. As well, on the 80th anniversary of the 1944 massacre of West African soldiers in a Senegalese fishing village by French forces, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye proclaimed that France should close its military bases in the West African state.
“Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country,” Faye said.
Neither country is seeking a full break from France at this time, distinguishing them from the stated goals of the members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), but the influence of the AES is clear. The AES was established in 2023 by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger as a regional and political defense pact independent of the pro-West ECOWAS alliance, charting a new path that reinforces cooperative structures outside the imposition of Western-backed African institutions.
The widely popular moves on the part of Chad and Senegal come shortly after the historic Conference in Solidarity with the Peoples of the Sahel, held in Niamey, Niger. Hosted by the Pan Africanism Today Secretariat and the West Africa People’s Organization, the conference confirms the commitment the new governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have to fighting neocolonialism head on. Successes of the AES abound. For example, Burkina Faso has been able to clear $4.79 billion in debt in 2024, without Western aid. The existence of the AES, and the rapid changes it brings, provides a model by which other governments are judged.
These AES governments came to power in popularly supported coups: Mali in 2020 and 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Niger in 2023, removing regimes that the populace rejected as puppets. These mass uprisings against France’s influence have swept the region, and Chad has been no different. Mahamat Deby, Chad’s president whose father held dictatorial power for 30 years, came to power in a military coup supported by the French in 2021. Since then, Chad has been a pressure cooker; protests condemning the “dynastic succession” swept the country. Deby’s government routinely arrested and killed protestors, outlawing many activist groups. This year, they hosted a sham election, with Deby’s own prime minister as an opponent. The West congratulated him on the result. Now, the Deby regime has done an about face. Having built no real support domestically, this tide change will help Deby maintain his position for now. Chadian people’s organizations that Deby had repressed are now hosting popular mobilizations in defense of the decision to terminate the mutual defense agreement. However, it is important to emphasize that this support for Deby is rooted in the decision itself and the desire for the Chadian people to see a sovereignty without France’s colonial influence.
Senegal’s president, who identifies as a “left Pan-Africanist” and had been imprisoned up until 10 days prior to the March 2024 election, came into office pledging to build “monetary sovereignty” and seek to abandon the CFA franc. Both Chad and Senegal are building stronger ties to Russia as they pull away from France.
The Sahel is being reshaped in real time. The rapid changes in these countries’ political landscapes show that no regime is stronger than the power of the people when they come together and demand change.
