The Gen Z wave hits again: This island country's government ousted
The president of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, has reportedly fled the country aboard a French military aircraft after days of mass protests led by Gen Z demonstrators and defections within the army.
French radio station RFI said Rajoelina’s departure followed an understanding reached with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Opposition leader Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko told Reuters that the president left the island nation on Sunday after elite army units abandoned the government and joined protesters.
“We contacted the presidential office, and they confirmed that he had left,” Randrianasoloniaiko said, adding that Rajoelina’s current location remained unknown.
The president had been scheduled to address the nation on Monday evening, but as speculation over his whereabouts grew, the presidency issued no comment.
Later that night, however, Rajoelina appeared in a surprise live broadcast, claiming he had gone into hiding following an attempt on his life.
“Since September 25, there have been attempts on my life and coup attempts,” he said in a televised address reported by AFP.
“A group of military personnel and politicians planned to assassinate me. I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life.”
The crisis began on September 25, when youth-led demonstrations erupted across Madagascar over chronic power cuts and water shortages.
The protests quickly escalated into a nationwide movement against corruption, poor governance, and deteriorating living conditions — grievances that have resonated across Africa’s younger population.
The uprising mirrors other recent Gen Z–driven revolts, including the one that toppled Nepal’s government last month.
Rajoelina’s authority began crumbling after CAPSAT, an elite military unit that helped him seize power in a 2009 coup, declared its support for the demonstrators.
Over the weekend, CAPSAT soldiers marched alongside protesters in Antananarivo, refusing to use force against them, before announcing they were assuming control of the armed forces.
That declaration prompted Rajoelina to accuse elements within the military of staging a coup.
Adding to the chaos, sections of the paramilitary gendarmerie also defected, formally taking charge of their command headquarters on Monday in the presence of senior officials, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Madagascar’s Senate announced that its president — a key target of public anger during the protests — had been dismissed. Lawmakers appointed Jean André Ndremanjary to the post on an interim basis.
Under Madagascar’s constitution, the Senate president temporarily assumes the presidency in the absence of the elected leader until new elections are held.