French President Emmanuel Macron asserted on Friday that he would not let anybody threaten Chad, as he attended the funeral of late Chad President Idriss Déby.
“We will not let anybody put into question or threaten today or tomorrow Chad’s stability and territorial integrity,” Macron said in a speech at Déby's funeral, which was broadcast on Reuters TV.
Meantime, the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday that the government is concerned for Chad’s political stability after Déby's death.
“It worries me. We must be very vigilant regarding the stability of the situation,” Le Drian said on France 2 television. “Is the transitional military council going to ensure Chad’s stability and cohesion?”
In addition, Le Drian acknowledged that under Chad’s constitution, the national assembly president Haroun Kabadi should have ensured the transition.
“But he refused because of the exceptional security situation,” the Foreign Minister said.
He added that the council needed to clarify “how the Chadian army is going to fulfil its commitments to the common Sahel force.”
Asked if he thought the troops would be pulled, he replied: “I can’t imagine it… I don’t believe the transitional military council will go back on its commitments.”
The announcement of Déby’s death, from battlefield wounds, plunged Chad into insecurity and alarmed Western leaders who saw him as a key ally in the restless region.
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