The Chadian President, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, expressed, on Tuesday January 7, his indignation the day after the comments of Emmanuel Macron who notably regretted that African leaders had “forgot to say thank you” to France for its anti-terrorist intervention in the Sahel.
“I would like to express my indignation at the comments recently made by President Macron, which border on contempt towards Africa and Africans. I think he’s got the wrong era.” declared Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno in a speech delivered at the presidential palace during a series of greetings and published on the website of the Chadian presidency.
On Monday, the French president declared, during the conference of ambassadors in Paris, that France had had « raison » to intervene militarily in the Sahel “against terrorism since 2013”but that African leaders had “forgot to [lui] say thank you »believing that“none of them” would not rule a sovereign country without this intervention.
“We proposed to African heads of state to reorganize our presence. As we are very polite, we let them have priority over the announcement”Mr. Macron said on Monday, referring to the French military withdrawal, generally forced, from a certain number of African countries in recent years.
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“Contemptuous attitude”
“As far as Chad is concerned, the decision to terminate the military cooperation agreement with France is entirely a sovereign decision of Chad. There is no ambiguity in this.” retorted President Déby.
Monday evening, the Chadian government reacted by expressing its “deep concern following the comments made recently by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, which reflect a contemptuous attitude towards Africa and Africans”according to a press release from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abderaman Koulamallah.
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Mr. Macron’s remarks were also condemned on Monday in Senegal by the Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, who, like the Chadian president, disputed the assertion according to which the announced withdrawal of French soldiers from his country resulted from negotiations between Paris and Dakar.
Last month, Senegal and Chad announced the departure of French soldiers from their soil. Before them, between 2022 and 2023, four other former French colonies, Niger, Mali, the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso, ordered Paris to withdraw its army from their territories, where it was historically established, and moved closer to Moscow.
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