French Airstrikes in North Chad Affirm Support for President Idriss Deby

NDJAMENA, LELEMUKU.COM - When French fighter jets bombarded 40 pickup trucks of suspected insurgents last week in Chad, the former colonial power signaled an unprecedented willingness to engage openly in joint military operations in Northern Africa.

But observers, including Chadian opposition leaders, are questioning whether the airstrikes were intended to fight terrorism or prop up President Idriss Deby, who has led Chad for nearly 30 years.

“The French launched the airstrikes themselves, and they did not even try to make it seem as if they were not interfering with Chadian politics,” said Marielle Debos, an associate professor at Paris Nanterre University. Debos, who has researched the country for more than a decade, told VOA in the past the French army’s support has been more discreet.

On February 3, French jets attacked a convoy of heavily armed pickup trucks that had entered Chad from neighboring Libya. The strikes lasted four days.

France said it had responded to a request for assistance from the Chadian government, calling the country an essential partner in the fight against terrorism.

Chadian officials said the attacks were legal and necessary to prevent terrorist activity.

“Both the French and the Chadian governments were portraying this as a decision that they undertook together,” said Alex Thurston, an assistant professor in political science and comparative religion at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio.

Joint operation

The planes flew from N’Djamena, Chad’s capital, where France headquarters its 4,500-person anti-terror mission, Operation Barkhane.

“There are agreements between states. Operation Barkhane covers a number of countries, and their role is precisely to fight terrorism,” said Mahamat Zen Bada, the secretary general of Chad’s ruling party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement, or MPS.

“If a column [of fighters] enters Chad, and that column is not a column of the Chadian army, it is normal for people to intervene,” VOA’s French-to-Africa service reported Bada as saying.

But others are questioning why France would attack a rebel group on behalf of Chad, an ally with a spotty record on human rights and democracy.

The opposition party denounced the airstrike.

“We condemn the intervention of France in the internal affairs of Chad,” said Célestin Topona, the first vice president of the National Union for Development and Renewal.

“We want a truly inclusive dialogue to know why, 30 years after the MPS took power, the instability continues,”Topona added.

Historical ties

France has intervened on behalf of Deby before.

In 2006 and 2008, when rebels based in Sudan advanced to the capital, France helped the Chadian Army repel the attacks with logistics and intelligence support.

“It’s possible —highly possible — that without French support that he would’ve been overthrown at the time,” Thurston said. “I think the French government sees a strong interest in keeping him in power.”

Although Barkhane has been operational since 2014, France established another military operation in Chad, Épervier, in 1986, under former President Hissène Habré.

At the time, France was backing Habré, before Déby and his supporters threw him from power.

“What is striking in this history is the fact that the French never left Chad. There has been a succession of military interventions in Chad, and Barkhane is the latest of this military intervention,” Debos said.

'French interests'

After years of instability, Chad has gained a newfound stature as an important regional player, especially in joint security operations.

“Chad has long been considered as a very unstable and conflict-ridden country, but for the past eight years, it has acquired a new regional and global status,” Debos said. “It is now considered as a regional power.”

That’s raised the stakes for France.

“The French tend to point to issues of border security and stability and so forth and to say that the Chadian regime should not be overthrown by rebels and that it’s a key partner for them,” Thurston said.

“This does raise questions about what is the French government’s understanding of so-called counterterrorism in the region, and what are the French interests in Chad,” he added. (Andre Kodmadjingar/VOA)

Gloom Lifts in Elysee as Townhall Debates Re-energize Emmanuel Macron

PARIS, LELEMUKU.COM - At the peak of France's "yellow vest" crisis, President Emmanuel Macron's wife and close aides were shown the Elysee Palace's nuclear-proof bunker in case the anti-government protesters attempted an assault on the presidency.

The startling revelation by Journal du Dimanche, which the president's office has not denied, shows just how anxious Macron's inner circle were over the challenge to his authority, as he sought a way to quell popular anger.

Six weeks on, Macron is back on the offensive and opinion polls point to a recovery in his battered popularity. Successful outings to a trio of townhall debates with local mayors and disenchanted voters have re-energized the president and lifted the gloom in his office.

In Bourg-de-Peage in the southern Drome region, Macron turned up unannounced at a local debate, rolled up his shirt-sleeves, and for several hours explained his policies aimed at spurring growth and creating jobs.

"This was the Emmanuel Macron I remembered, the spirit from the campaign was back," one aide who worked with Macron during the 2016-2017 presidential campaign told Reuters.

The yellow vests, named after high-visibility vests French drivers must keep in their cars, had thrown Macron onto the defensive late last year. Their initial protests— against fuel tax hikes that Macron then scrapped— spiraled into a broader movement against the political elite and inequality, triggering some of the worst street violence in Paris in decades.

Despite the recovery in his fortunes, Macron told reporters on a flight to Egypt on Sunday that he still felt like he was "walking on thin ice."

That same day, however, 10,000 pro-government supporters marched in the rain in a riposte to the yellow vest protests.

It was a far cry from the million citizens who rallied in support of General Charles de Gaulle at a march that helped end the May 1968 uprising, but still a welcome sight for Macron supporters who had questioned whether he could bounce back.

'A rather beautiful moment'

In another small victory for Macron, he appears for now to have changed the narrative coming out of France's influential 24-hour news channels.

BFM TV's ticker, which Macron's PR team obsesses over, went from "Macron pushed to the wall" in December to "Will Macron emerge from this victorious?" last weekend.

Even Macron's opponents acknowledge that he has performed well in the townhall sessions, part of a two-month long national debate Macron promises will influence policymaking, appearing self-assured and confident as the audiences grilled him.

"In terms of form, the performance was a success," Damien Abad, a lawmaker for the center-right Les Republicains party told Reuters. "It was a rather beautiful moment. But the French expect more than unanswered questions."

An Ifop poll last week showed Macron's popularity up 4 points at 27 percent. Surveys have also shown his party back ahead of the far-right in voting intentions for the May European Parliament elections.

But there is no guarantee that trend will continue, and the yellow vest protests rumble on. Some want to channel their energy into becoming a political force and aim to contest the May EU elections, though that decision has revealed deep splits within their amorphous movement.

Macron, a former investment banker, has been told by advisers to avoid some of the cutting remarks that angered voters and made him look arrogant, but he is still prone to faux pas.

Moreover, further tough reforms lie ahead. Plans for stricter rules on unemployment benefits, a leaner public sector and a merging of varying pension plans into a single system could push voters back onto the streets.

The polls suggest that Macron's increasingly tough response to the violent street marches has reassured conservative voters unnerved by the scale of the unrest.

"In my constituency, I'm told 'we're not always for your policies, but we want this whole saga to end'," Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, a lawmaker in Macron's La Republique En Marche, told Reuters.

"The French don't like chaos. The grand debate is a smart way to get out of this through the front door."

Analysts warn, however, that Macron's national debate also risks raising expectations.

"Giving people a chance to speak is a big decision, and he'll have to show that it served a purpose," Ifop's Frederic Dabi said. (VOA)

5 Killed in Collision of Helicopter, Plane Over Val d'Aosta Italy

ROME, LELEMUKU.COM - Five people were killed Friday when a helicopter and a small tourist airplane collided near the border between France and Italy.

Italy's mountain rescue service said rescue workers found two people injured at the crash site and evacuated them.

Officials said the helicopter was carrying skiers to a glacier in the northwestern Italian region of Val d'Aosta when it collided with the tourist airplane about 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) over the Rutorglacier.

It was not immediately clear how the crash happened. The identities and nationalities of the victims had not yet been released.

Italy's Val d'Aosta regionis popular with skiers. A website for the region says skiers frequently access the area by helicopter during winter. (VOA)

Chris Brown Accuser Alleges Multiple Rapes in Paris, Lawyer Says

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - The lawyer for a woman who filed a rape complaint in Paris against American singer Chris Brown and two other men says she was raped four times during a drug-fueled party.

Police questioned Brown and the others before releasing them from custody without charges Tuesday. The Paris prosecutor's office says the investigation hasn't been closed.

Lawyer Franck Serfati told The Associated Press on Thursday the woman alleges she was forced to take cocaine and raped by the three men at a Paris hotel.

Brown's legal representative in France, Raphael Chiche, didn't immediately respond to several calls and messages seeking comment.

Chiche tweeted Wednesday he was preparing a defamation complaint that "(hash)Chris Brown will file against his accuser."

The Associated Press identifies people making sexual assault allegations who agree to be named. Serfati's client requested anonymity. (VOA)

Italy's Matteo Salvini Lashes Out at Emmanuel Macron as 'Terrible President'

ROME, LELEMUKU.COM - Italy's interior minister on Tuesday called the French leader Emmanuel Macron "a terrible president," in comments that were sure to further add to tensions with Italy's trans-Alpine neighbour over immigration.

Matteo Salvini, leader of the right-wing League that governs in coalition with the 5-Star Movement, said his issue was not with the French people but with "with Macron, who talks a lot and achieves little, who give lessons of generosity, and then rejects thousands of migrants at the Italian border."

"If Macron is so good, he can prove it with facts by letting in thousands of refugees who are in Italy and whom he promised hospitality, with other European countries," Salvini continued in a Facebook live transmission.

He said he hoped French voters would send Macron a message during the European elections in late May by showing their support for far-right leader Marine Le Pen, with whom Salvini is allied in European politics.

The 5-Star leader, Luigi Di Maio, already sparked annoyance earlier this month by saying his populist movement was ready to help France's anti-government yellow vest protesters. The French Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned the Italian ambassador over sharp anti-French comments from Italy about Europe's migrant crisis.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte has tried to tamp tensions down, saying that while questioning the efficiency of global politics was legitimate "this does not mean to put into discussion our historic friendship with France, nor with the French people."

"This relationship remains strong and steady despite the political discussion," Conte said.

The summons by the French Foreign Ministry on Monday was in reaction to Di Maio's accusations that France is leading colonial-style policies in Africa that are "impoverishing" Africans and driving them to Europe's shores. Salvini repeated them on Tuesday morning television. The populist government last fall accused France of dumping under-age migrants over the border without authorization.

In the recent spat, the populist Italian government accuses France of obliging 14 African countries using the CFA franc currency, established in 1945, to buy French government bonds with half of their reserves to finance public spending in France.

The Italian financial daily il Sole 24 Ore reported that the deposits made by the 14 countries into the French Treasury had marginal impact on French coffers, totaling 10 billion euros — or just 0.5 percent of the French public debt. It also noted that only 9 percent of the 23,370 migrants that arrived in Italy last year came from the 14 countries using the CFA.

A French diplomatic official said Ambassador Teresa Castaldo was questioned Monday about the "unfriendly and baseless" comments. The official said they run counter to "Franco-Italian partnership" and the sense of "European community." The diplomat was not authorized to be publicly named. (VOA)

Clashes Break Out in France in Latest 'Yellow Vest' Protest

PARIS, LELEMUKU.COM - Clashes broke out throughout France on Saturday, as an estimated 84,000 "yellow vest"demonstrators took to the streets in a 10th consecutive weekend of protests against President Emmanuel Macron's government.

The demonstrations passed off relatively peacefully in Paris where 7,000 turned up, although Reuters Television reporters saw scuffles briefly break out between police and demonstrators,some wearing masks, in the capital's Invalides district.

Protesters threw firecrackers, bottles and stones at police, who responded with water canon and tear gas to push them back.

"Macron, resign!" some protesters shouted.

The protests, named after the fluorescent jackets French motorists are required to carry in their cars, began in November over plans to raise fuel taxes. The number of demonstrators on Saturday was roughly the same as last week's figure.

The fuel tax hikes were subsequently scrapped, yet the movement has morphed into a broader protest against Macron's government and general anger over taxes and the cost of living.

"How can we continue to live with so little?" said Bernard Grignan, a 65-year old retired manager who took part in the Paris demonstrations.

Trouble in Toulouse

In Paris, some demonstrators carried mock coffins symbolizing the 10 people who have died during the protests,mainly because of accidents when demonstrators blocked roads.

December's demonstrations saw some of the worst violence in decades in Paris, as rioters burned cars and vandalized shops.

Protests in Paris this month have not seen the same level of trouble, although video of a former French boxing champion punching and kicking police in Paris shocked many.

Despite a relative decline in crowd trouble in Paris,however, disturbances have flared up in other cities.

According to official figures, the biggest demonstration on Saturday occurred in the southern city of Toulouse, where around 10,000 people took part. The demonstration turned violent as evening fell, as protesters vandalized a bank and other shops.

Eight people were injured and there were 23 arrests.Reuters correspondents also reported disturbances in Bordeaux, Lyon and Marseille, while the local government building was attacked in Angers, northwest of Paris.

Macron has launched a series of national debates to help quell public discontent and restore his standing.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen — soundly beaten byMacron in the 2017 presidential election — is looking to take advantage of the "yellow vest" crisis and win ground in the May2019 European Parliament elections.

'Legitimate' revolt

On Saturday, Le Pen reiterated her support for the protesters at a meeting near Marseille, at which she described the movement as a "legitimate" and "courageous" revolt.

The Angers member of Parliament, Matthieu Orphelin, a member of Macron's LREM centrist party, said he would cancel talks with members of the "yellow vests"in light ofthe trouble in Angers.

"It fills me with fury to see our beautiful town attacked in this way, in particular the damage caused to symbols of the republic,"Orphelinsaid in a statement. (VOA)

Ballon D'Or Host Apologizes as 'Twerk' Request Causes Storm

PARIS, LELEMUKU.COM - French DJ Martin Solveig apologized and said he was taken aback by the stormy reaction online after he asked the inaugural women's Ballon D'Or winner Ada Hegerberg whether she could "twerk" live on stage.

The awards co-host in Paris provoked a torrent of complaints about sexism with his question about the sexually suggestive dance, which received a blunt "No" from the unamused Norwegian striker.

The incident was a major talking point despite Hegerberg's achievement in becoming the first winner of the women's Ballon D'Or, an award which has been handed to male footballers since 1956.

Solveig, a musician and radio host, apologized in person to Hegerberg and said he was "astonished" at the reaction.

"Guys I'm a little bit amazed, astonished by what I'm reading on the internet," he said in a video posted on Twitter.

"Of course I didn't want to offend anyone... This was a joke, probably a bad one and I want to apologize for the one I may have offended."

As footage of the incident went viral, British tennis player Andy Murray led the backlash when he thundered: "Why do women still have to put up with that shit?"

"What questions did they ask (Kylian) Mbappe and (Luka) Modric?" he posted on Instagram, referring to the winners of the best young player and the men's Ballon D'Or.

"I'd imagine something to do with football.

"And to everyone who thinks people are overreacting and it was just a joke... it wasn't. I've been involved in sport my whole life and the level of sexism is unreal."

Hegerberg, 23, whose goals propelled Lyon to a record fifth Champions League title and their 12th consecutive domestic crown, played down the controversy and said it hadn't marred her evening.

"I didn't feel it was like that at all to be honest and I am sad if people thought about the situation like that," Hegerberg said after the show.

She added: "He came to see me after and apologized. The Ballon d'Or is the most important thing."

Before the ceremony, Hegerberg told The Guardian that she found it "really frustrating" that sport remains "such a man's world".

"Sometimes it's really frustrating, I must say. Sometimes you have episodes or situations where you feel like, damn, we're in such a man's world," she said in an interview.

"But at the same time I've never looked at myself different from men's football. I've always felt the same -- I work hard to try to achieve my dreams, like every other girl out there." (VOA)