Niger: Faced with threats and France’s refusal to recall its diplomat, the transitional authorities take concrete action

The military regime imposed its authority after the expiry on 28 August of the ultimatum given to the French ambassador to Niger to leave the country. The transitional authorities ordered the expulsion of the ambassador on Thursday 31 August.

According to a statement issued by the ministry responsible for diplomacy in Niger, the privileges and immunity enjoyed by the French ambassador as a diplomat have been lifted. In addition, the diplomatic cards and visas of the French ambassador and his family have been cancelled, and the Nigerien police have been ordered to expel him. What a humiliation for Niger’s former colonial power!

The regime that has been in power since the coup d’etat has the right to take decisions that could put the country back on track, and it has the right to act to protect the population and the territory from its European enemies. France and the European Union (EU) do not recognise the legitimacy of the new authorities in Niamey. So why crash into someone else’s country, which you consider to be very poor, and where insecurity reigns, risking the lives of your nationals?

This is a question of respecting the will of the people of Niger if we really want democracy to reign in African countries. It should be remembered that since the coup d’etat in the country on 26 July, the population has not ceased to demand the departure of the French military troops who settled there in 2014 and the Barkhane forces who arrived in 2022 after their expulsion from Mali.

Today, Niger no longer wants France and its men, who have brought nothing more to the country than exploitation. France, for its part, does not want its troops to leave, still hoping to carry out its threats with the help of the forces already in place in Niger in order to rescue its dear ally Mohamed Bazoum and return him to power. All in all, the fight goes on and all the worthy sons of revolutionary Africa want to go all the way for a freer Africa.

Binta KASSSOUM