A new military and geopolitical setback for France in the unstable Sahel area. The French president, Emmanuel Macronannounced this Sunday “a ordered output from here to End of the year“of the French military contingent in Niger due to the coup who overthrew the president in July Mohamed Bazoum and put a military junta in charge of the country. An announcement that represents a victory for the military regime in the diplomatic battle of the last two months between Niamey and Paris, which until now defended that it only recognized President Bazoum.
“France-Africa is over (a geopolitical concept that reflected the influence of Paris in its former African colonies), We no longer intervene when there are coups d’état“said the centrist leader in an interview for TF1 and France 2., the two main television networks of the neighboring country. Macron has said that this troop withdrawal will take place “orderly manner”“from now until the end of the year.”
After France withdraw its troops from Mali and Burkina Faso (both countries marked in recent years by coups d’état), Niger had become a strategic point for the French army in the Sahel. There he has deployed 1,500 soldiers, being the African State with the largest French military presence. The Sahel is marked by the presence of jihadist groups and regional gangs. Initiated in 2013 by France, the Serval and Barkhane military operations lasted almost a decade and this favored the growth of anti-French sentiment in this area of North Africa.
Return of the ambassador
The French authorities were caught off guard by the coup d’état in July and the coming to power of a junta with a hostile speech towards Paris. The Nigerien military regime had already requested the withdrawal of French troops at the beginning of August. Macron also announced that the French ambassador in Niger will return to France “in the next few hours”. The president had said last week that his diplomatic representative was being treated “like a hostage” after he was considered persona non grata by the Nigerien authorities and they requested his expulsion from the country. Until now, the French government had disobeyed this demand.
In this same interview, Macron noted that France will be “always available“to help Africa in the fight against jihadist terrorismas long as it is at the request of governments democratically elected or of regional organizations. “We have been there because Niger asked us, Burkina Faso, Mali, to help them fight terrorism in their territories. Today those countries have been victims of coups d’état. “Just today I spoke with President Bazoum, who is now detained because he was carrying out ambitious reforms,” the president detailed. It is for this reason that France “has decided to put an end to military cooperation with Niger,” as he explained. the French leader.
Mon interview at 8pm on TF1 and France 2. https://t.co/wHjopTjekH
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 24, 2023
Banned airspace
A few hours before the news spread, the military regime in Niger banned its airspace to “french planes“, according to a message sent on Sunday by the website of the Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (Asecna). Niger’s airspace “is open to all national and international commercial flights, except French aircraft or aircraft chartered by France, including those of the Air France fleet,” stated the text dated Saturday.
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The airspace remains closed for all “operational military flights and special flights”, unless special authorization from the authorities, adds the message on the Asecna site. Questioned by AFP, Air France indicated that it does not “fly over Niger’s airspace.”
On August 6, Niger announced its closure “in the face of the threat of intervention that is needed from neighboring countries,” because the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threatened to intervene militarily to restore Bazoum to power.