French presidential candidate visits Chad

    French presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right Front National party, is making a rare visit to Africa.

She is in Chad to meet French soldiers based there as part of the Barkhane anti-terrorism force.

   Chadian opposition parties say she should have been banned from visiting describing her as a champion of fascist policies.
Le Pen's planned meeting with French soldiers is seen as a move to mark her commitment to stopping Islamist fundamentalism at the root before it is exported to France, as she proposes to curb immigration and increase military spending as a way of safeguarding France against future attacks.
   She also wants to hike defence spending to a minimum of 2% of France's GDP.
   France has been hit in recent years by deadly attacks, all claimed by radical Islamist groups.
  However, her visit to Chad has created a controversy with opposition parties in the country.