France and Chad are taking new steps to repair their bilateral relationship through renewed military collaboration. As part of this effort, two French Mirage fighter jets alongside a transport plane will briefly deploy to Chad in the near future to conduct training sessions, according to a Thursday statement from the French military.
This development follows a period of heightened diplomatic tension. N’Djamena previously terminated its six-decade security pact with Paris in 2024, requiring French forces to vacate the nation. However, diplomatic momentum shifted following a mid-October summit in Paris where French President Emmanuel Macron met with Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.
“There has been a resumption of cooperation with Chad, in full respect of Chad’s sovereignty,” Xavier Rival, spokesperson for the French chief of defence staff said.
Rival further explained to reporters that the French military aims “to contribute to efforts against regional instability” while supporting the growth of “the capabilities of the Chadian air force”.
The planned stopover aligns with a broader joint military exercise scheduled for November, which will feature participating units from Gabon, Ivory Coast, and France.
During the diplomatic talks in October, both governments formalized a statement of intent designed to restructure their bilateral defense partnership “on a renewed basis”. The Elysee Palace noted that collaborative security efforts were initially restored earlier in the year, concentrating on intelligence exchanges, equipment provision, and defense training.
Chad previously served as a key regional operational center for French forces in the Sahel. France had formerly stationed over 5,000 personnel across the area during its anti-jihadist mission, Operation Barkhane, which officially concluded in November 2022.
Subsequent political shifts and military coups between 2020 and 2023 across neighboring Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso led to the departure of French troops from those territories as new regional leadership forged ties with Russia.
