Madagascar President flees to France after losing support of key army unit
Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina has reportedly fled the country following weeks of mass protests and a sudden shift in military allegiance, opposition leader Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko told Reuters on Monday.
According to Randrianasoloniaiko, Rajoelina left the country on Sunday, allegedly aboard a French military aircraft, after several army units joined demonstrators demanding his resignation. His current whereabouts remain unknown.
“We called the staff of the presidency and they confirmed that he left the country,” Randrianasoloniaiko said, adding that members of parliament are now preparing to impeach the 51-year-old leader.
French radio station RFI reported that Rajoelina had reached a deal with French President Emmanuel Macron, though no official statement has been issued from the Malagasy presidency.
On Monday, the Senate of Madagascar announced that Rajoelina had been formally relieved of his duties, with Jean Andre Ndremanjary appointed as interim head of state until fresh elections are held.
Thousands of protesters filled the streets of Antananarivo, chanting “the president must quit now” as armed military units patrolled the capital.
The turning point came when CAPSAT, a key military unit that helped Rajoelina seize power in a 2009 coup, defected to join the protesters over the weekend. Another paramilitary gendarmerie unit, initially deployed to quell the demonstrations, also turned on the government, signaling a complete collapse of the president’s authority.
The protests, which began on September 25, were sparked by power and water outages but quickly evolved into a broader movement against corruption and poverty. Nearly three-quarters of Madagascar’s 30 million citizens live below the poverty line.
Rajoelina’s sudden flight marks a dramatic fall from power for a leader once hailed as a youthful reformer, now ousted by the same military force that once installed him.
