France threatened Sunday to respond “immediately and intractably” to any attack against its nationals and its interests in Niger, where thousands of demonstrators in favor of the military coup have targeted its embassy.
“Anyone attacking French nationals, the army, diplomats and rights of way would see France respond immediately and intractably,” warned the Elysée. President Emmanuel Macron “will not tolerate any attack against France and its interests”.
“France as always protects its nationals, the situation this afternoon is calmer” but “we are extremely vigilant”, declared on RTL the Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna.
The 500 to 600 French nationals currently present in Niger “have all been contacted, precautionary measures are being taken” and “they will be reinforced if necessary, but there is no evacuation decision at the time when I speaks to you,” she said.
Thousands of pro-coup demonstrators gathered this Sunday in front of the French embassy in Niamey, before being dispersed by tear gas canisters.
Some wanted to enter the building, others ripped off the plaque displaying “French Embassy in Niger”, before trampling it on the tarmac and replacing it with Russian and Nigerien flags.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned “any violence against diplomatic premises, the security of which is the responsibility of the host state”.
“It will be up to the putschists to say who is behind them and who supports them,” said the head of French diplomacy, in reaction to the presence of Russian flags in the demonstration. But “in any case, coups d’etat are not acceptable, they threaten the stability of a country and the region”.
The rally in front of the French embassy was organized as West African countries, meeting this Sunday in Abuja for an “extraordinary summit”, ordered an economic blockade of Niger and set a week-long ultimatum to the junta to restore constitutional order, not excluding a “use of force”.
The Elysée assured that France supported “all regional initiatives” aimed at the return of elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
On Saturday, Emmanuel Macron had convened a defense council and Paris decided, in the wake of the European Union, to suspend its aid to the country.
After Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger, plagued by attacks from groups linked to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, is the third country in the region to suffer a coup since 2020.
Sunday’s clashes, anti-French slogans and the unfurling of Russian flags in the streets of Niamey, recall similar clashes in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso where the juntas that took power pushed out French soldiers and diplomats. .
Ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, elected in 2021, has been sequestered since July 26 in his private residence at the presidential palace by his close guard, whose leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani, chairs the junta of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland ( CNSP).
The future of Franco-Nigerian military cooperation today seems highly uncertain.
However, with 1,500 soldiers on the spot, Niger has so far been the pivot of the French anti-jihadist system in the Sahel, since the forced departure of the French soldiers from Mali in the summer of 2022.
French military personnel in the Sahel have increased in one year from around 4,500 to 2,500, including 1,500 in Niger and 1,000 in Chad.
“This putsch against the democratically elected Nigerien authorities with whom our country was cooperating to fight against terrorism and human trafficking is a threat to the security of France, but also of the European continent”, estimated Sunday evening on Twitter, renamed X, Stéphane Séjourné, boss of the Renaissance presidential party.
Economically, few French companies are present in Niger apart from Orano (ex-Areva).
The group, which specializes in the nuclear fuel cycle and which employs some 900 people in the country – mainly local staff – said it is monitoring the situation of its uranium mines very closely.
Over the period 2005-2020, Niger was the third supplier of uranium to France, contributing 19% of its supplies, behind Kazakhstan and Australia, according to the Euratom technical committee.
For this ore, Niger “is no longer the strategic partner of Paris as it was in the 1960s-70s”, commented to AFP Alain Antil, director of the sub-Saharan Africa center at the French Institute. International Relations (IFRI).
08/08/2023 11:31:08 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP