The three heads of government, who celebrated the departure of the French army, offered themselves a political platform in Agadez, Niger, on the occasion of the end-of-year celebrations.
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In Niger, New Year’s Eve was sporting and highly political for the ruling junta. Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine visited Agadez on Sunday, December 31, the northern city at the gateway to the desert, a cultural jewel listed as a UNESCO heritage site. He was attending the final of the major traditional wrestling championship, a very popular sport in Niger.
Quite a symbol, the Nigerien Prime Minister was accompanied by his counterparts from Mali and Burkina Faso, three countries which formed the Alliance of Sahel States, a defense cooperation led by soldiers resulting from coups d’état. The three heads of government, who celebrated the departure of French soldiers on Saturday December 30 in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, treated themselves to a crowd and a political platform.
The Prime Ministers of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso paraded side by side, to ovations from the public. A saber and a camel saddle were given as gifts. On the podium, the Minister of Sports and Culture of Niger, Colonel-Major Abdourahamane Amadou, triumphs. “To our uninhibited youth, yesterday mobilized to free the French troops from our lands and today united around our king sport in Niger, but also to our African culturedeclared the minister. May all those who would like to present Niger as a field of ruins resolve to admit that they were seriously mistaken.”
The anger of the population against France and the West
The message is clear: show that Niger remains standing despite the international sanctions which are suffocating the country. In the stands, Youssoufou Alhassane traveled more than 600 kilometers with his daughter to attend the final. “We want these three countries to be a United States of Africa, with the Sahel States. I appeal to all heads of state to denounce, not only France, but also other military agreements with the Westhe pleads. Because we have been with them for a long time and we have not seen any progress, before calling on the Russians to support us with the latest generation weapons to allow us to defend ourselves..”
The three countries, all undermined by jihadist violence and where the military came to power through coups between 2020 and 2023, have turned their backs on France, the former historic ally. But neither Burkinabe Prime Minister Apollinaire Kyélem de Tambèla nor Malian Prime Minister Choguel Maïga delivered a speech during this visit. The trip was above all symbolic, more than a week after the departure of the last French soldiers from Niger.