"France is losing an essential ally".
It is with these words that the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, reacted to the death of the Chadian President, Idriss Déby Itno, on Tuesday, April 20.
The man, who ruled the country with an iron fist for thirty years, was a solid partner of Westerners, Paris in the lead, in the fight against jihadism in the Sahel.
My sincere condolences to the Chadian people after the death of their president, Idriss Déby Itno.
Chad is an essential partner in the fight against terrorism.
The establishment of a democratic transition process will be key to preserving the stability of the country.
- Florence Parly (@florence_parly) April 20, 2021
Military cooperation between France and Chad is old.
The French army has been present there almost permanently since the country's independence in 1960.
"Idriss Déby came to power with the help of France during the coup d'état in 1990", begins by recalling Bruno Daroux, international columnist for France 24. "Relations have had ups and downs. Idriss Déby has in particular, it was very criticized for its governance, extremely authoritarian, in the early 2000s, "he continues.
"Everything changes in 2013 after the fall of Colonel Gaddafi (two years earlier, Editor's note). Idriss Déby was a great connoisseur of Libya and he was the first to alert the West to the possible consequences for the stability of the region ", explains Bruno Daroux.
Chad is thus the first country to support France in the Sahel for the "Serval" operation, launched the same year to stop the advance of jihadist groups towards the south of Mali, which later became "Barkhane".
"From there, all the criticisms which were addressed to Idriss Déby on the political level disappeared", notes Bruno Daroux.
In a Sahelian zone characterized by political instability and security threats, Chad is seen by Paris as an essential stability lock in the heart of Africa.
Today, it is from N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, that most of the actions on the ground are centralized and coordinated within the framework of the Barkhane mission.
The capital also hosts one of the two air bases - the second is in Niamey, Niger - of the operation.
04:16
A pillar of security
Chad is also one of the pillars of the G5-Sahel joint force - also made up of Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger - a military coalition that has supported the French military since 2017. On its own, the country provides nearly a third of the armed forces, 1,850 soldiers out of the 6,000 deployed.
While the Malian, Nigerian and Burkinabè armies display major structural weaknesses, "the Chadian army is considered to be the most efficient and the most professional," explains Bruno Daroux.
It is also the only G5 Sahel country to have deployed a battalion outside its national borders, in Niger, in the so-called "three borders" region known to serve as a refuge for Sahelian jihadist groups.
"During the last G5-Sahel summit, of which Chad had taken over the presidency, Idriss Déby also announced the deployment of 1,200 Chadian soldiers on the border with Mali", also recalls Cyril Payen, international columnist for France 24 . "A request which had been formulated for a while by Paris which wanted to give more powers to the local armies."
In addition to its involvement in the G5-Sahel, the country provides the second largest contingent within the United Nations Mission in Mali (Minusma).
A mission that Paris considers essential on the ground.
04:14
"A period of floating"
However, these all-out military commitments could be called into question with the death of President Déby, experts note.
The death of the Chadian president risks "introducing uncertainty", told AFP Yvan Guichaoua, researcher at the University of Kent.
"If the Chadians now take care of their internal affairs because the transition opens the door to palace quarrels - now under control - this will weaken all military efforts where the Chadians are present."
A worrying prospect at a time when Paris plans to gradually reduce its military footprint in the Sahel - 5,100 French soldiers are currently there - after eight years of uninterrupted presence in Mali, thanks to greater involvement of the countries of the region in their own safety.
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