France on the back foot in Africa after Chadian snub

French soldiers stand at attention during a morning drill at the French military base in Chadian capital N'Djamena, October 26, 2014. Picture taken October 26, 2014 Emma Farge/File Photo

NAIROBI/GENEVA - A French plan to significantly reduce its military presence in West and central Africa risks backfiring and further diminishing the former colonial power's influence in the region at a time when Russia is gaining ground.

A French envoy to President Emmanuel Macron this week handed in a report with proposals on how France could reduce its military presence in Chad, Gabon and Ivory Coast, where it has deployed troops for decades.

Details of the report have not been made public but two sources said the plan is to cut the number of troops to 600 from around 2,200 now. The sources said Chad would keep the largest contingent with 300 French troops, down from 1,000.

However, in a surprise move that caught French officials on the hop, the government of Chad - a key Western ally in the fight against Islamic militants in the region - on Thursday abruptly ended its defence cooperation pact with France. That could lead to French troops leaving the central African country altogether.

"For France it is the start of the end of their security engagement in central and Western Africa," said Ulf Laessing, director of the Sahel Programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Mali.

"Chad was the aircraft carrier of the French army, its logistical headquarters. If Chad doesn't exist, the French army will have a huge problem to keep running its other operations."

In a further blow to France, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye told French state TV on Thursday it was inappropriate for French troops to maintain a presence in his country, where 350 French soldiers are currently based.

France has already pulled its soldiers out from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, following military coups in those West African countries and spreading anti-French sentiment.

Paris is also shifting more attention to Europe with the war in Ukraine and increasing budgetary constraints, diplomats said.

The review envisions the remaining French soldiers in the region focusing on training, intelligence exchange and responding to requests from countries for help, depending on their needs, the sources said.

Chad's move to end the cooperation deal had not been discussed with Paris and shocked the French, according to the two sources and other officials.

France, which wants to keep a presence in Chad in part because of its work to help ease one of the world's worst humanitarian crises unfolding now in neighbouring Sudan, responded only 24 hours after Chad made its announcement.

"France takes note and intends to continue the dialogue to implement these orientations," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

One of the two sources, a French official with knowledge of Chadian affairs, said Chad's government appeared to have seen the French decision to more than halve its military presence there as a snub. Chad also felt the French would no longer be in a position to guarantee the security of the military regime led by President Mahamat Idriss Deby, this source said.

Macron had backed Deby despite criticism since Deby seized power following the death of his father, who ruled Chad for 30 years until he was killed in 2021 during an incursion by rebels. Deby won an election held this year.

In its statement on Thursday evening, released hours after the French foreign minister had visited the Sudanese border in eastern Chad with his counterpart, Chad's foreign ministry said N'djamena wanted to fully assert its sovereignty after more than six decades of independence from France.

It said the decision should in no way undermine the friendly relations between the two countries. Earlier this year, a small contingent of U.S. special forces left Chad amid a review of U.S. cooperation with the country.

The French drawdown, coupled with a U.S. pullback from Africa, contrasts with the increasing influence of Russia and other countries, including Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, on the continent. Russian mercenaries are helping prop up the military governments of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, and are also fighting alongside them against Islamist militants.

However, French officials and other sources played down Russia's ability to take advantage of the French setback in Chad, at least in the short term.

The French source familiar with Chadian affairs noted that Russia and Chad back rival factions in Sudan's war. Russia also has major military commitments in Syria and the war in Ukraine.

(Reporting by David Lewis in Nairobi and John Irish in Geneva; Writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Peter Graff and Richard Chang)