Two months after a coup in Niger forced out the country’s pro-Paris president and caused a deterioration in the relationship between France and its former colony.
In an interview granted on Sunday (September 24, 2023) by French President Emmanuel Macron he said Sylvain Itte would go “in the next hours,” but he did not provide any further information.
The military authorities in Niger, who deposed Mohamed Bazoum, the country’s democratically elected president, on July 26, applauded the declaration but said they were waiting for official action to be taken in response.
After toppling Bazoum and removing the envoy’s diplomatic immunity and visa, they had instructed Itte to depart the nation.
However, despite a 48-hour deadline to leave, which was imposed in August, he remained in office because the French government refused to follow through or recognize the military regime’s legitimacy.
Only the overthrown government of Bazoum, according to Paris, could oust the envoy.
Itte, a 1959 birth in the Malian capital Bamako, has held the position of ambassador to Niger for a year.
He has been an ambassador to Angola and Uruguay over his 35-year diplomatic career.
According to Macron, another demand made by Niger junta during the interview is for the French troops to leave Niger. He said the troops will leave Niger in “the months and weeks to come” and completely “by the end of the year.”
The French president continued by saying that military collaboration was “over” despite his efforts to make Niger a special friend.
In order to combat Islamist activity in the Sahel, France maintains roughly 1,500 soldiers in its former territory in West Africa.
Following similar events in fellow former French colonies Mali and Burkina Faso in 2021 and 2022, respectively, the coup against Bazoum was the third putsch of this type to occur in the area in as many years.
The French troops’ withdrawals were also compelled by them.
Macron claimed that the post-coup government of Niger “no longer wanted to fight against terrorism.”
He also reiterated France’s stance that Bazoum was being held “hostage” and was still the “sole legitimate authority” in the nation.
Along with his wife and son, the elected president has remained imprisoned within the presidential residence.
The declaration from Macron on Sunday (September 24, 2023) was hailed by Niger as “a new step toward sovereignty,” but the country has stated that the timeline for the withdrawal “must be set out in a negotiated framework and by mutual agreement.”
Similar to Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger has long been the target of Islamist strikes.
Tens of thousands of people have participated in protests and meetings in Niamey in recent weeks calling for the removal of French troops from the nation.
Following France’s decision, the United States, which has about 1,100 military personnel in Niger, has stated that it will “evaluate” its future actions regarding the problem.
