France and Chad

Share

Political relations

France and Chad have a strong bilateral relationship marked by many high-level meetings: Chad is also an important partner for France in the fight against terrorism. Since August 2014, the headquarters of the French Operation Barkhane has been based in N’Djamena.

Visits

  • Mr Le Drian, French Minister of Defence, visited Chad on 26 and 27 February 2017.
  • Mr Ayrault, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, met with his Chadian counterpart, Mr Hissein Taha, in Paris on 16 March 2017.
  • President Macron met with President Déby in Bamako on 2 July 2017 and in Paris on 11 July, 28 August and 13 December of that year. Both took part in the G5 Sahel Financing Conference in Brussels on 23 February 2018.
  • Ms Parly, French Minister for the Armed Forces, visited Chad on 30 and 31 July 2017.
  • Mr Édouard Philippe, Prime Minister, met with President Déby in Paris on 8 September 2017.
  • Mr Larcher, President of the French Senate, visited Chad from 25 to 28 February 2018.
  • Mr Le Drian, French Minister of Defence, visited Chad on 7 and 8 June 2018.
  • Ms Parly, French Minister for the Armed Forces, visited Chad on 8 and 9 October 2018.
  • The President of the French Republic made a visit to Chad on 22 and 23 December 2018.
  • Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, visited Chad again on 21 May 2019.

Economic relations

France is one of Chad’s main economic partners. French exports (€86.9 million in 2017) mainly cover agrifood products and mechanical, electrical and IT equipment. Imports from Chad (€35.8 million in 2017) were mainly due to the recovery in hydrocarbon purchases (€29.9 million) but also forestry products (gum arabic).

In 2018, France granted Chad €10 million in budgetary assistance and €40 million in concessional loans for budget support as part of the IMF programme. In the same year, Chad received €862,000 in assistance from France via the Emergency Humanitarian Fund to finance humanitarian and stabilization projects. Despite a very difficult business environment (ranked 181st out of 190 countries in the World Bank’s 2019 Doing Business ranking), some 20 subsidiaries of French businesses operate in Chad.

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

France is Chad’s leading bilateral development assistance partner (excluding humanitarian and food aid). The commitments of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD, French Development Agency) in Chad totalled €68 million in 2017 and €77 million in 2018. The AFD is working in the Lake Chad region, supporting urban planning in N’Djamena and Moundou, providing long-term support for nomadic farming and maternal and child health, and improving the educational system and vocational training. Our cooperation is also implemented in the sectors of governance and higher education and research.

Other cooperation

France provides support for the restructuring of the Chadian armed forces (training, retraining, advice and expertise). It is also active in the internal security field through support for capacity building in the area of counter-terrorism.

Updated: 07.06.19

Useful links