Antananarivo, Madagascar — October 15, 2025: When Madagascar’s elite CAPSAT military unit stormed the presidential palace in Antananarivo on Tuesday, it wasn’t just another African coup. It was the dramatic climax of a Gen-Z revolt that exposed the fragile sovereignty of a nation still tethered to its former colonial master — and the second time the same military faction had overthrown a government in less than two decades.
Colonel Michael Randrianirina, commander of the Corps d’administration des personnels et des services administratifs et techniques (CAPSAT), declared military control hours after parliament voted 130-to-1 to impeach President Andry Rajoelina for “abandonment of duty.” The 51-year-old leader, who first came to power in a military-backed coup in 2009, had fled Madagascar aboard a French military aircraft just two days earlier, evacuated after losing the support of the same military faction that installed him 16 years ago.
“We have taken power,” Randrianirina announced outside the ceremonial palace, promising a transitional government and elections. Madagascar’s High Constitutional Court swiftly declared the presidency “vacant” and invited the colonel to assume head-of-state functions, citing Rajoelina’s “passive abandonment of power.” The military suspended the constitution, dissolved the Senate, the High Constitutional Court, the electoral commission, and the High Council for the Defense of Human Rights — but kept the National Assembly intact.
The takeover followed three weeks of deadly youth-led protests that began September 25 over chronic electricity and water shortages but rapidly evolved into a broader anti-government uprising. The United Nations reported that at least 22 people were killed and over 100 injured in clashes with security forces, though Rajoelina’s government disputed the figures, claiming only 12 deaths.
France’s Role in President’s Evacuation Raises Colonial Questions
The most explosive revelation in this crisis wasn’t the military mutiny — it was France’s role in evacuating Rajoelina from the country. Multiple sources confirmed that a French military Casa CN-235 aircraft evacuated Rajoelina from Sainte-Marie airport on Sunday afternoon, October 12. A military source told Reuters that “a French Army Casa aircraft arrived at Sainte Marie airport in Madagascar Sunday. Five minutes later, a helicopter arrived and transferred its passenger into the Casa.”
French radio RFI reported that the evacuation followed an agreement between Rajoelina and French President Emmanuel Macron. Speaking at a summit in Egypt, Macron declined to confirm the evacuation, stating “I will not confirm anything today. I just wish to express our great concern” while emphasizing that “constitutional order must be maintained in Madagascar.” France’s embassy in Madagascar denied any military intervention was “underway or planned,” but did not address the completed evacuation.
Protesters in Antananarivo didn’t miss the symbolism. Anti-French sentiment ran through the demonstrations as activists accused Rajoelina of being too close to Paris, citing his French citizenship acquired in November 2014. The accusations gained traction on social media, where Gen-Z activists drew connections between France’s April 2025 state visit — when Macron sought “forgiveness” for French colonialism while signing economic deals with Rajoelina — and the president’s sudden safe passage to French protection six months later.
For Madagascar, a nation colonized by France in 1896 and granted independence in 1960, the pattern is painfully familiar. When the previous president, Marc Ravalomanana, was overthrown in 2009, he accused France of supporting the coup that brought Rajoelina to power, though the international community broadly condemned the power grab as unconstitutional. Rajoelina himself was installed with CAPSAT’s backing after protests and mutiny forced Ravalomanana to flee — making the 2025 events an ironic reversal.
Gen Z Protests and the JIRAMA Failure: When Basic Services Become Revolutionary Triggers
Behind the dramatic military takeover lies a fundamental governance catastrophe: Madagascar’s state-owned utility company JIRAMA. The utility has faced chronic mismanagement and debt, delivering electricity to only 36 percent of the population, with power outages lasting six to eight hours daily in the capital. Chronic corruption and insufficient investment have turned basic services into luxury goods in one of the world’s poorest nations, where 75 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.
The Gen-Z protesters, coordinating through social media platforms, initially demanded accountability for water and electricity failures. Their demands quickly expanded to encompass systemic corruption, rising living costs, limited access to higher education, and allegations that government officials looted public resources.
“In 16 years, the president and his administration have done nothing but enrich themselves while the populace remains impoverished. The youth, particularly Gen Z, suffer the most,” said 22-year-old hotel worker Adrianarony Fanganta, whose monthly salary of $67 barely covers basic needs. Protesters carried signs reading “Rajoelina Out” and waved Malagasy flags alongside symbols borrowed from youth movements across Asia.
The movement drew inspiration from successful youth-led uprisings that toppled governments in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka over similar grievances. When CAPSAT soldiers joined the protests on Saturday, October 12, the balance of power shifted irreversibly. Colonel Randrianirina told the media: “We responded to the people’s calls… The movement was created in the streets, so we must honor their demands.”
The irony was not lost on observers: CAPSAT, the same unit that facilitated Rajoelina’s 2009 coup against President Marc Ravalomanana during another youth-driven movement, had turned against him. Back then, Rajoelina at age 34 was Africa’s youngest head of state, riding a wave of youth anger to overthrow his predecessor; now, that same demographic had engineered his downfall.
Contradictory Timelines and Uncertain Political Future
What remains unresolved is whether the military will genuinely hand power to civilians and when. Madagascar’s Constitutional Court invited Colonel Randrianirina to serve as interim president and organize elections within 60 days, citing Article 53 of the constitution. However, the colonel also announced a two-year transitional period for drafting a new constitution through a referendum — creating contradictory timelines.
The African Union Peace and Security Council convened an emergency session on October 13, expressing “deep concern” and calling for restraint by all parties. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) also voiced concern and announced plans to dispatch envoys for mediation. Yet the AU’s response was notably muted compared to its reaction to previous coups, perhaps recognizing that protesters themselves supported military intervention.
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for dialogue and peaceful protest while urging compliance with international human rights law, but offered no concrete action plan. The United States and United Kingdom issued travel warnings, while Air France and Emirates suspended flights to Antananarivo.
Opposition leader Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko and former President Marc Ravalomanana have backed the protesters, though neither has emerged as a clear successor. Many Gen-Z demonstrators interviewed by Reuters admitted they had no specific leader or candidate in mind — only a demand that whoever leads next must “prioritize the Malagasy people, not their own interests.”
For Rajoelina, his fate now hangs in political limbo. From an undisclosed location, he issued defiant statements insisting he remains president and condemning the military takeover as unconstitutional. His office released a statement calling the impeachment “devoid of any legal basis” and describing CAPSAT’s actions as a “manifest act of attempted coup d’état.” But with Madagascar’s top court declaring the presidency vacant and the military controlling the capital, Rajoelina’s authority exists only on paper.
Madagascar’s October 2025 crisis is a cautionary tale for the entire continent: when governments fail to deliver basic services, when elections are contested and institutions corrupted, and when former colonial powers retain the infrastructure to extract leaders at will, sovereignty becomes fragile. The Gen-Z protesters who toppled Rajoelina have won a battle, but the war for genuine independence — economic, political, and developmental — remains unfinished.
As Colonel Randrianirina promised to “restore democracy” from the presidential palace, thousands celebrated in Antananarivo’s streets with Malagasy flags. Whether this military takeover delivers the systemic change protesters demand, or simply replaces one elite with another, will determine if Madagascar’s youth have truly seized their future — or simply changed the face of the same system.
