French Mirage 2000s to Stop in Chad for Training, the First French Combat Jets There Since 2025

Two French Mirage 2000 fighters and a CASA transport aircraft will make a short “technical stopover” in Chad, with training activities for the Chadian air force, the French armed forces announced on 29 October 2026. It will be the first time French combat jets land in Chad since the last French troops left the country at the end of January 2025, after N’Djamena tore up its defence agreement with Paris.

“There has been a resumption of cooperation with Chad, in full respect of Chad’s sovereignty,” Xavier Rival, spokesman for the French chief of defence staff, told reporters, according to AFP. He said the stopover would be “a short visit that will also provide an opportunity to conduct training activities,” and that the French forces would help develop “the capabilities of the Chadian air force.” No date has been given beyond “very soon.”

What is actually planned

• Aircraft: two Mirage 2000 fighters and one CASA transport aircraft, per the French armed forces spokesman.
• Purpose: a short technical stopover plus training activities with the Chadian air force.
• Framework: the stop is linked to exercise GEX, which France says will run in Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon from 8 to 30 November 2026. RFI reported that about thirty French personnel are involved.
• What it is not: neither government has announced a return of French forces or a new base. The visit is described as short.

How Paris and N’Djamena got here

Chad ended its defence cooperation agreement with France in November 2024, citing its sovereignty, and ordered French forces out. France closed its permanent presence in January 2025, ending some six decades of French military deployment in the country.

The thaw has been gradual. President Emmanuel Macron received Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno at the Élysée in January 2026; a Chadian government source told RFI the two presidents set a “road map” on 29 January, negotiated directly between the two presidencies. According to the Élysée, security cooperation resumed at the start of the year, notably military training, equipment supplies and intelligence sharing.

On 13 October 2026, after a second meeting between the two presidents in Paris, the defence ministers of both countries signed a declaration of intent to structure defence cooperation “on a renewed basis,” covering training, expertise, industry and technology, the French presidency said. The Mirage stopover is the first visible military step since that signature.

What Chad is saying

Chadian officials are framing the visit as continuity rather than a reversal. “There was never a rupture,” a Chadian source close to the negotiations told RFI, adding that the base closures were meant to “establish a new dynamic” and that training never stopped. A Chadian government source went further, telling RFI that French forces could redeploy to Chad if needed, with N’Djamena’s prior agreement, though no such request has been made.

N’Djamena also says it will keep diversifying its partners and continue working with Russia, Türkiye and China. Chad’s air force already operates Turkish-made drones; see why Chad bought the Anka and Aksungur drones.

Why the timing matters

Chad’s borders are under pressure on several sides. Its relations with Sudan and the Central African Republic are strained, and in late October Niger’s military government accused Chad of carrying out a drone strike in the Agadez region and accused France of backing it, a claim covered in our report on Niger’s accusation over the Emi Lulu strike. A visible French air presence in N’Djamena, even a brief one, will be read in Niamey against that background.

For France, which has withdrawn its forces from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Senegal and cut its presence in Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon, Chad is a test of whether a lighter, training-focused relationship can replace permanent bases. Rival said France’s objective is “to contribute to efforts against regional instability.”

What to watch

• The date of the stopover and whether the French or Chadian armed forces publish details of the training.
• Whether the 13 October declaration of intent is followed by a formal defence agreement.
• Reactions from Niger and the Alliance of Sahel States, which have accused France of destabilising the region.

Sources

• AFP, “France, Chad rebuild military ties with fighter jet visit,” 29 October 2026 (via Modern Ghana).
• RFI, “Tchad: des avions de chasse français attendus pour une «escale technique»”, 30 October 2026.
• Le Parisien, “Reprise de la coopération”, 29 October 2026.
• TRT Français, report on the stopover, 29 October 2026.