Evacuated in emergency from Niger, passengers on the first French repatriation flight show satisfaction and serenity, despite the fatigue visible on their faces, on their arrival in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.
First to get off the plane around 2 a.m. (Paris time), Charles said he was “happy to be back and a little unhappy to leave Niger in this situation of hostage-taking more than of putsch”, a few days after the military coup in the Sahelian country.
“Not sure it’s going to get out of hand, but it’s always good to be back,” adds the white-haired man, who did not reveal his full identity.
Shortly after 1:30 a.m., the 262 passengers on the first evacuation plane from Niamey landed at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport.
On board, in addition to a large majority of French, Nigeriens, Portuguese, Belgians, Ethiopians and Lebanese, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This large-scale evacuation, which the French authorities hoped to complete by midday on Wednesday, was decided “given the situation in Niamey”, according to the Quai d’Orsay.
The operation was “well organized, it was quite fast, for me everything went very well”, testifies Bernard (he does not give his name), who has been working for two months in Niger for the European Union. .
“In Niamey, there are no particular tensions in the city, no particular stress, the population goes about its business”, describes this man, who left with “two computers, two t-shirts, a pair of socks and a toothbrush”. “For the rest, I left everything there,” he adds without seeming to take offense.
Among the flow of passengers, only a few agreed to answer questions from the press, present in large numbers in the airport terminal.
Raïssa Kelembho returned from Niamey with her two boys but left her husband behind, who stayed for his job as commercial director. “It feels good,” she said, relieved. “Since it started, we haven’t left the house,” adds the mother.
“At one point, there was a feeling of insecurity, we knew that everything could change at any time,” she explains.
For Huguette Bonneau, “the anxiety is because the borders and the airports are closed, without that we would not have been anxious”, she maintains, pushing a heavy trolley of luggage.
Niger’s land and air borders with five neighboring countries have now been reopened, one of the putschists announced on national television overnight.
Of the approximately 1,200 French people registered on consular lists in Niger, according to Paris, 600 nationals have expressed their intention to return to France.
Three other flights are already planned.
02/08/2023 04:55:21 – Roissy Airport (France) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
