The decision by Chad is another blow to what remained of France’s military influence in the troubled stretch of countries below the Sahara, where Russia’s influence has been growing.

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.

France, Chad's former colonial ruler, had signed a revised version of the military and security agreement in 2019. Chad is just the latest nation in Central and West Africa to sever its security agreements with Paris.