Almost exactly one year after the abrupt and humiliating departure of the last French soldiers stationed in Chad, Paris and N’Djamena aimed to move forward and restore their severely strained ties. Officially invited on Monday for a working visit to France, President Mahamat Idriss Déby was received by Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace on Thursday, January 29, with “the ambition of fostering a renewed and mutually beneficial partnership.”

Proof that the tone had shifted between the two capitals, the Chadian presidency’s Facebook page praised “a warm welcome upon his arrival in Paris [Wednesday, January 28] after a year of cooled relations.” Following his meeting with France’s ambassador to Chad, Eric Gérard, the Chadian head of state expressed in a statement his desire to “redefine” cooperation between the two countries, which he said “must be renewed and adapted to current challenges.”

“Smoothing out misunderstandings,” “mutual respect,” “sovereignty and shared interests,” “more balanced relations”… The language coming from the Chadian presidency now conveyed a sense of calm and a willingness for a fresh start, largely because the rupture from the French side was both abrupt and unexpected.

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