Niger: Thousands gather in Niamey a day after French ultimatum

Putsch soldiers seem more legitimate in the eyes of Nigerians every day. Several thousand people gathered this Saturday in Niamey to support the military regime that emerged from the coup d’état, a day after its 48-hour ultimatum to the French ambassador in Niger to leave.

In the middle of the day, the Seini Kunche Stadium, Niger’s largest stadium with a capacity of 30,000 seats, was two-thirds full and shrouded in the hum of the vuvuzela. The stands are littered with the flags of Nigeria, Algeria and Russia, while acrobats dressed in the colors of the national flag put on a show in the middle of an empty lawn.

Model Ramatu Ibrahim Boubacar is adorned from head to toe with Nigerian flags and wrapped in a green, white and orange scarf in the national colors. “We have the right to choose the partners we want, France must respect this choice,” she said.

“For sixty years we have never been independent, we have only been so since the coup d’état” on July 26, which toppled President-elect Mohamed Bazum, she said, adding: “So we are 100% in support of the CNSP. . »

France became the object of the coup attack

The National Council for the Defense of the Homeland (CNSP), which came to power under General Abdurakhaman Tiani, has since chosen France, the former colonial power, as its preferred target. The military regime, in particular, accused Paris of wanting to carry out a military intervention in Niger in order to return President Bazum to his place.

This new pro-CNSP rally is being held the day after the decision to expel the French ambassador to Niger, giving him 48 hours to leave, a decision immediately rejected by Paris, for which “putschists have no authority” to do so.

Still no military intervention

“The French ambassador, instead of leaving, thinks this is the land of his parents,” irritates Idrissa Khalidou, a medical worker and member of the Niger Homeland Defense Association. “We are a people of warriors, we are ready to fight against the forces of ECOWAS,” he adds.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decided after the coup to impose heavy economic and financial sanctions on Niger, which was suspended from membership in the organization, and also threatened military intervention there in order to restore Mohamed Bazum to his post.

The new owners of Niamey accused ECOWAS of being “paid” by France, which has 1,500 soldiers in Niger. The latter, before the coup, participated in the fight against jihadist groups that have bled this country and a large part of the Sahel for years.