Tribune. Idriss Déby, President of Chad, has just died on the battlefield. Since his death, the“Courageous friend” of France was praised for his military qualities. He was the first to portray himself as a warrior. In 2008, when he was threatened by another rebellion, he had already announced that he was ready to die with weapons in hand. In August 2020, he was awarded the title of Marshal. This staging of oneself was addressed to the Chadians, to his brothers and to his enemies of arms, but also to the international actors who had seen in him an ally in the “war against terrorism”.
This alliance is however older. Idriss Déby was already supported by the French when he overthrew Hissène Habré in 1990. He had benefited from the discreet but effective support of the French army during the rebel attacks on the capital in 2006 and 2008. In February 2019, the French army had gone further still by carrying out airstrikes against a rebel column. The military cooperation agreement concluded between the two countries in 1976 has always been interpreted broadly.
A fine strategist, architect of his success as well as his defeat
Behind this attachment to Idriss Déby, there are interests. These interests are not economic, but military. Chad, which has hosted almost continuously a succession of foreign operations since its independence, is considered a strategic space. This policy is underpinned by an ideology: that of the strong man, the only one capable of taming a country of warriors. This ideology is problematic in more than one way. It is paternalistic: the French would know better than the Chadians themselves which political system would suit them. It is culturalist and racist: Chadians would form a turbulent people who should be commanded – rather than governed. She’s finally sexist: only a man could do the job.
Idriss Déby has never been the puppet of the French; more than once he was able to oppose those who supported him. He was a fine strategist, capable of bluffing and playing with his unpredictability to impose himself on the regional scene and with his Western supporters. He is the architect of his success as of his defeat.
The fact remains that his political career was made possible by his allies, who deliberately turned a blind eye to the violent elimination of his most threatening opponents (civilians or soldiers), at the risk of significant collateral damage, and accepted fraudulent elections. The dominant discourse was then: “Idriss Déby is certainly not a great democrat, but there is no one else to ensure the stability of the country. It was as if the strong man of Chad was invincible and immortal.
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