It did not take long to dispel the doubt on whether or not France and the Sahel countries supported the process implemented in Chad after the death of President Idriss Déby. At his funeral this Friday in N’Djamena, France pledged its support for the military junta led by the son of the late Chadian president to preserve the “stability” of his ally in the fight against jihadists in the Sahel.
Mahamat Idriss Déby well master on board
The son of the late Marshal Déby, Mahamat Idriss Déby, army general at 37 and until then commander of the Republican Guard, the formidable praetorian guard of the regime, is the new strongman of Chad, surrounded by the most loyal of the generals of his father. He has full powers, but has promised new institutions after “free and democratic” elections in a year and a half. For many opponents, the fiercest of whom were regularly victims of intimidation and violence, this seizure of power was nothing more than an “institutional coup”.
Public support from the G5 Sahel
Just before the ceremony, French President Emmanuel Macron and the four other heads of state of the G5 Sahel (of which Idriss Déby Itno held the rotating presidency), who formed a military force backed by Paris to fight the jihadists, testified to the young General Déby their “unity of view” and their “common support for the process of civil-military transition for the stability of the region”. A dozen heads of state were gathered in the Place de la Nation, in the heart of N’Djamena, where the coffin covered with the Chadian flag arrived aboard a pick-up surrounded by bikers, report journalists from the AFP on site. Twenty-one cannon shots were fired and military honors were given to the man who was elevated to the rank of Marshal of Chad on August 11.
Reaffirmed support from France
Among the heads of state and government, Mr. Macron, sitting closest to the young General Mahamat Déby, was the only Westerner. Around them, the four other G5 Sahel countries, which have formed an anti-jihadist military force supported by France: Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. Emmanuel Macron had met the day before as an aside, barely got off his plane, the new strong man of Chad. A sign for the opposition and the experts: France, which has saved militarily at least twice the regime of the late Idriss Déby threatened by rebels, in 2008 and 2019, seems to maintain its support for his successor. “France will never let anyone, neither today nor tomorrow, call into question the stability and integrity of Chad”, promised Mr. Macron in his funeral oration. “Dear President, dear Marshal, dear Idriss […], you lived as a soldier, you died as a soldier, weapons in hand, ”he continued. But, for the attention of the Transitional Military Council (CMT) chaired by the young General Mahamat Déby, he called for the promotion of “stability, inclusion, dialogue, democratic transition”. Paris has installed the HQ of Barkhane, its anti-jihadist force in the Sahel, in Chad, its strongest ally against the jihadists in the region. Since coming to power by force in 1990, with the help of Paris, Idriss Déby had always been able to count on the former colonial power.
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