Macron's envoy: French troops to stay in Chad

An envoy to French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that Paris will retain its troops in Chad, ruled by a military council, despite withdrawing from other African countries following crises with other military regimes.

France's influence has waned in its former colonies in West Africa, where military rulers fighting jihadist rebellion in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have expelled its forces and strengthened their ties with Russia.

Around a thousand French soldiers are stationed in Chad, ruled by General Mahamat Idriss Déby since 2021. Chad is one of France's dwindling allies in the region.

Jean-Marie Bockel, Macron's envoy to Africa and responsible for researching the new French military deployment on the continent, said, "Of course, we will remain" in Chad.

Bockel added that after he met with Déby in N'Djamena, Macron requested talks with Chadian authorities regarding the "evolution" of the French military deployment "to better adapt it" to regional security and military challenges.

Bockel also noted that he expressed France's "admiration" to Déby for Chad's transition to civilian rule, which began after the military council's president took power following his father's three-decade rule with an iron grip.

AFP