Less than two years after ending 65 years of defense cooperation, Chad and France appear to be restoring military ties. N’Djamena severed the partnership in late 2024, framing it as an assertion of sovereignty, after previously hosting around 1,000 French troops who provided intelligence and logistics support to the Chadian army. However, Chad has struggled to secure new security partnerships since the split, while confronting Boko Haram activity near Lake Chad and the MPRD rebel group in Moyen Chari province. For France, renewed access restores a strategic foothold for projecting influence across Central Africa and the Sahel, where its influence has weakened. Chad, meanwhile, could gain useful military support. However, the rapprochement carries risks for Chadian President Mahamat Déby, potentially straining relations with neighboring states and undercutting the anti-colonial narrative he has cultivated among younger citizens skeptical of renewed Western military presence.