Niger the beginning of the 20th century. What is now Niger was created from four distinct cultural areas in the pre-colonial era: the Zarma dominated Niger River valley in the southwest; the northern periphery of Hausaland, made mostly of those states which had resisted the Sokoto Caliphate, and ranged along the long southern border with Nigeria; the Lake Chad basin and Kaouar in the far east, populated by Kanuri farmers and Toubou pastoralists who had once been part of the Kanem-Bornu Empire; and the Tuareg nomads of the Aïr Mountains and Saharan desert in the vast north. Each of these communities,
Chad–France relations Hollande paid a visit to Chad. France maintains an air force base at N'Djamena International Airport where it has launched humanitarian and counter-terrorism missions to the Central African Republic, Mali and Niger. In 2016, total trade between Chad and France amounted to €211 million Euros. Chad's main exports to France are primarily Gum arabic and oil. France's main exports to Chad include: medicine, flour, cereals, electronic equipment and automobiles. French multinational companies such as Air France, Le Méridien, Novotel, Société Générale and Total S.A. operate in Chad. Chad–France relations Chad–France relations refers to the diplomatic relations between the Republic of