President Idriss Déby had promised since his rise to power in 1990 to introduce multiparty democracy. Despite these promises, Déby slowed the process in an attempt to maintain full control over the transition. This worried France, Chad's former colonial power, as it noted that by 1995 only Chad had yet to hold multi-party elections. With the French putting pressure on Déby, on 6 January 1996 he was forced into round table talks with the 15 armed groups and 58 opposition parties in Franceville, Gabon.
