| Chirac is tough when he's facing Africans -- at a distance. |
A C-160 aircraft carried some 40 troops from the capital N'Djamena to Sahr, 500 kilometres (to the southeast and around 100 kilometres from the Central African border, following a Chadian request.
The plane was also carrying light weapons, the defence ministry said, adding that the flight was considered to be "logistical support", provided under a military cooperation agreement linking France and Chad.
France, which ordered 150 troop reinforcements to Chad on Wednesday in response to the worsening security situation, has said its 1,200 soldiers based in the country are not involved in fighting the rebels.
The ministry said the operation was intended to prevent a possible offensive by rebel forces seeking to oust President Idriss Deby Itno.
On Thursday a leader of the rebel United Front for Change (FUC) alleged that French fighter planes had bombed rebel-held towns in eastern Chad, a charge dismissed by the French authorities as "without foundation".