Niger: military regime gives French ambassador 48 hours to leave

The French presence in Niger seems increasingly compromised. The military regime that took power in Niamey on July 26 gave the French ambassador to Niger 48 hours on Friday to leave the country, Niger’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Faced with the “refusal of the French ambassador in Niamey to respond to the invitation” of the ministry “for an interview” on Friday “and other actions of the French government contrary to the interests of Niger”, the authorities “decided to withdraw their approval of Mr. Sylvain Itte and ask him to leave Niger territory within forty-eight hours,” the press release says.

From the moment they came to power, the coup soldiers opposed the French presence in the country. The junta also annulled the main military agreements with the French authorities, but in Paris it was considered that only the “legitimate authorities of Niger” could denounce the military agreements. About 1,500 French soldiers are still in Niger, but the situation may well change.

After the military coup at the end of July, relations between Paris and Niamey deteriorated significantly. The Nigerian ambassador to Paris was also fired by the putschists, as were the ambassadors to the United States, Togo and Nigeria.

France in hostile territory

In Niger, the programs of Radio France Internationale (RFI) and the news channel France 24 were also interrupted in a “decision taken outside any conventional and legal framework”, according to the parent company of the two media, France Médias.World. The decision was condemned “very strongly” by France, a former colonial power.

After the coup in the streets of Niamey, at the call of M 62, a coalition of “sovereign” civil society organizations, there were several demonstrations hostile to France. Many demonstrators chanted slogans critical of France and waved Russian flags, which Mali and Burkina Faso called for.