Did French forces participate in the defense of N’Djamena against the rebel forces that attacked the Chadian capital earlier this month? The title of an article in last Friday’s edition of Le Monde suggests that they did not: “Chad: Paris Decided Not to Intervene.” But the details of the article indicate exactly the opposite. The article cites unnamed French government sources, at least one of whom is supposed to have taken part in the government’s deliberations. Here a translation of the key paragraph:
The article is available online here. The Le Monde editors appear, however, to have recognized in the meanwhile that it does not permit the pretense of French “non-intervention” to be maintained. Thus, the title has been changed to the more plausible “Chad: the Elysée was Divided on the Intervention.”