A 200-seat military plane took off from Paris at midday and is on its way to Niamey airport to evacuate the first French nationals from the Niger capital, AFP reported on Tuesday (August 1st). Agence France-Presse (AFP) a source informed of the evacuation operation.

“Given the situation in Niamey, the violence that took place against our embassy the day before yesterday and the closure of airspace which leaves our compatriots without the possibility of leaving the country by their own means, France is preparing the evacuation of its nationals and of European nationals who wish to leave the country,” said a press release from the Quai d’Orsay.

A message sent earlier in the day to the French in Niger claimed that “this evacuation operation (…) has been coordinated with the Nigerien forces”. It specified to French nationals that “the exact time and place of the assembly and departure point [would] be communicated to them as quickly as possible” and that they [should] “join the assembly point” by their “own means”. “.

Some six hundred French people are currently in Niger. Several of them told AFP that they did not want to leave Niger for the time being. “For now, I’m staying!” », affirmed by message one of them, anonymously, because kept silent by the humanitarian organization for which he works. Others, on a one-off mission in Niger, are already packing their bags. Many permanent resident nationals in Niger are outside the territory, especially those with children, during this school holiday period. The French government was unable to say whether the operation would take place over several days, not yet knowing how many nationals wanted to leave the country.

Italy has also announced that it is ready to evacuate, by a specially chartered plane, its nationals from Niamey, some 90 people out of a total of just under 500 Italians living in Niger, most of whom are soldiers.

“Don’t fall for the trap”

On Monday, the military who seized power in Niger and overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum accused France of wanting to “intervene militarily”, which Paris denied. “It’s wrong,” said the head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, on BFM-TV. “We have to dismantle the intox and not fall into the trap,” she also said of the anti-French slogans that flourished during a demonstration in front of the French embassy in Niamey on Sunday.

On this occasion, thousands of people wanted to enter the embassy, ??before being dispersed by tear gas canisters. The Nigerien putschists specified that these shots had caused “six injuries, taken care of by the hospitals” of the capital. Emmanuel Macron had threatened on Sunday to respond “immediately and intractably” to any attack against French nationals and the interests of France in Niger. Tuesday, the streets are deserted in Niamey, due to driving rain, noted AFP journalists.

On Monday evening, Ouagadougou and Bamako claimed that any military intervention to restore Mohamed Bazoum would be considered “a declaration of war” on their two countries and “would result in Burkina Faso and Mali withdrawing from ECOWAS [Economic Community of West Africa], as well as the adoption of self-defense measures in support of the armed forces and the people of Niger”.

Niger’s West African neighbors had threatened on Sunday to use “force” if President Bazoum was not restored to office within seven days, a decision backed by Niamey’s Western partners, including France, ex -colonial power in the Sahel region undermined by jihadist violence.

‘No risk’ for uranium supply

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, despite its uranium resources. The European Commission estimated on Tuesday that there was “no risk” for the supply of uranium to the EU after the putsch in Niger, a country representing a quarter of European supplies, because of the stocks already constituted.

Undermined by attacks from groups linked to the Islamic State organization and Al-Qaeda, Niger is the third country in the region to suffer a coup since 2020, after Mali and Burkina Faso.