The French government, through an envoy of President Emmanuel Macron, announced on Thursday that France will maintain its military presence in Chad, governed by a military council, despite its withdrawal from other African nations following crises with other military regimes.
France’s influence in its former West African colonies has waned as military rulers fighting insurgencies in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger expelled French forces and sought closer ties with Russia.
About 1,000 French soldiers are stationed in Chad, ruled by General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno since 2021, marking it as one of the few remaining allies of France in the region.
Jean-Marie Bockel, Macron’s envoy tasked with discussing France’s new military deployment in Africa, affirmed France’s commitment to Chad.
Following a meeting with Déby Itno in N’Djamena, Bockel stated, “Of course, we will stay in Chad.”
He added that Macron has initiated talks with the Chadian authorities to adapt the French military deployment more effectively to the regional security and military challenges.
Bockel also expressed France’s admiration for Chad’s transition towards civilian rule, a process initiated after the military council’s leader succeeded his father, who had ruled the country for over three decades with an iron fist.
Déby Itno, 39, is set to contest in the presidential elections scheduled for May 6, where he is almost certain to win, with key opposition figures either denied, co-opted, or killed.
His main rival and cousin, Yaya Dillo Djerou, was killed last week in an incident described by Dillo’s party as an “execution.”
The government reported that Dillo violently resisted arrest during a shootout with soldiers.
Initially, Déby Itno pledged to return power to civilians within 18 months but later extended the deadline by another two years. He had previously stated he would not run in the elections.
