In the spotlight: the funeral of Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno in Ndjamena
Audio 04:46
Chadian military officials are seated in the stands awaiting the start of the national funeral of the late Chadian President Idriss Deby in N'Djamena on April 23, 2021. © Christophe Petit Tesson / AFP
By: Norbert Navarro
9 mins
Publicity
"
21 cannon shots will be fired,
" reports
Le Journal du Tchad
.
Useful precision because, when powder speaks thus in this very martial country, that Njaménoises and Ndjaménois are not mistaken there, it is just a “
ritual of greeting of memory of the deceased with gunshots
”,
explains
Le Journal du Tchad
!
Decor thus set, several Chadian sites publish a platform of the political opposition parties, in which the signatories ask "
that the light be shed on the conditions of the death of Idriss Deby Itno
",
underlines Chad News
.
More explicitly,
the local newspaper
Le Pays
, with a title, wonders if Idriss Déby is "
killed in action or victim of a discreet putsch?"
".
The Sahel and "
all of Central Africa, even the countries of the Gulf of Guinea, which are holding their breath
":
Because they fear that Idriss Déby dead, "
it is not a dike against terrorism which gave way
", underlines, in Burkina Faso, the
Observer Paalga
.
This means, explains this daily Ouagalais, that the political leaders who came to the funeral "
did not come to N'Djamena to mourn only Idriss Déby, but also and above all to pledge allegiance to his son, promoted caliph instead. of the Caliph, with the secret hope that he will avoid a security doggy within its borders and will keep the same gaze of gendarme on the Sahel region
”,
estimates
L'Observateur Paalga
.
But before that, it's time for the funeral, with in particular this real and most unexpected prayer chanted by the newspaper
Wakat Sera
, a very original trinity as a prayer to Idriss Déby: “
In the name of the father, the son and… Macron!
".
If Jupiter drove crazy all those he wanted to lose, there, suggests this Burkinabè colleague, it would be rather the opposite, because in Chad, "
the succession of the father by the son which is emerging, must undoubtedly constitute a real heist. -Chinese head for the French sachem
”, imagines this daily newspaper, of a formula of western.
For
Wakat Sera
, no doubt, Emmanuel Macron "is
walking on eggshells, to keep control in Chad where he must, at the same time, seek to restore his coat of arms as chief democrat
".
At the same time ?
Or rather one after the other… Because this Ouagadougou daily also wonders if France will “
save the son, after having carried the father?
"!
Emmanuel Macron on site?
The French press also commented on it:
Usually not very fond of international subject,
Le Parisien
devotes no less than half a page to the presence of Emmanuel Macron and that of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian today in N'djamena.
"
The image will be beautiful to make very
" Françafrique ",
Emmanuel Macron did not hesitate
", thus points out this French daily newspaper. "No
more considerations on the attacks on democracy and human rights customary to the late president, it is to a
'courageous friend'
that Macron will pay tribute
", underlines
Le Parisien,
wondering for what reasons the very "
new look
”French President is“
at the same time so linked to old practices?
".
In
Le Parisien
, a soldier close to the matter assures us that "
Chad is a strategic lock between very unstable areas, Libya, Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Sahel, Boko Haram, etc
(...)
A destabilization of the country
(and)
the future of Operation Barkhane
(which)
would be at stake
”.
Precisely, referring to "
several sources on the spot
", the Mondafrique site announces that the 1,200 men of the Chadian army who had just arrived in the Three Borders zone "
are packing their bags and going back home.
"!
Mondafrique underlines it, “
it is obviously a cold shower for Paris which counted on these reinforcements to launch a big offensive envisaged before the end of spring and to gain a media victory against terrorism.
Which was to precede a partial withdrawal of the French army from the Sahel, but with honors
”.
Be careful,
warns Mondafrique
, “
the worst is yet to come.
Whoever the new masters of the Ndjamena palace are, the army, whose officers are almost all Zagawas, the ethnic group of the late President Déby, will not escape a purge, on pain if not of implosion
”.
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Chad
Emmanuel Macron
Idriss Deby Itno