During his interview on France 2 and TF1 on Sunday, the head of state announced that the 1,500 French soldiers present in the country would leave by the end of the year, as requested by the military junta.
Under duress, Emmanuel Macron changed his mind. While he has been insisting for weeks that only President Mohamed Bazoum, overthrown at the end of July by the military, represents “legitimate authority” in Niger, he announced, Sunday September 24, the return “in the next few hours” of the French ambassador in Niamey, Sylvain Itté, whose putschists demanded the departure. Guest of the 8 p.m. news on France 2 and TF1, the head of state added that French troops would also leave the country: “We are ending our military cooperation with Niger”, declared Emmanuel Macron. The 1,500 French soldiers present on site will leave “in the coming weeks and months”and their withdrawal will be completely completed “by the end of the year”he assured.
Since the coup, Paris has refused to recognize the legitimacy of the junta which now rules the country. And had, until now, turned a deaf ear to the demands of the generals of Niamey, who placed France in their crosshairs as soon as they came to power. They first denounced military cooperation agreements at the beginning of August and described“illegal” the presence of French soldiers deployed in Niger as part of the fight against jihadists in the Sahel. Numerous demonstrations in favor of the departure of these troops have taken place in recent weeks in Niamey. The military then demanded, at the end of August, the expulsion of the French ambassador, Sylvain Itté. Two requests to which Paris finally acceded on Sunday.
A diplomat imprisoned in his embassy
By ordering the return of his ambassador, Emmanuel Macron puts an end to an untenable situation. Sylvain Itté and his team, who were locked up in the French embassy, no longer benefited from diplomatic immunity and risked expulsion as soon as they left. They also saw their reserves running out: “We are preventing food from being delivered. [Sylvain Itté] eats on military rations”, reported Emmanuel Macron himself on September 15. The President of the Republic described the diplomat as “taken hostage”claiming that he had no “no longer able to go out” and was “persona non grata” in Niger. Joined by TF1/LCISylvain Itté nevertheless assured that he and his team were “safe inside the embassy.”
Between the putschists and the French ambassador, the situation had deteriorated significantly. On August 25, the junta gave him 48 hours to leave the country. An ultimatum rejected by Paris. Tensions escalated on August 31 when the military authorities asked the police to expel him and lifted his diplomatic immunity. Vehicles traveling near the French embassy were searched, including diplomatic vehicles. Thanks to Article 22 of the Vienna Convention, a UN treaty on diplomatic relations, the embassy premises are, however, “inviolable”.
“We do not spontaneously have the desire to obey the injunctions of putschist authorities, whom we do not recognize. We have no reason to do so”reaffirmed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, on September 15 on LCI. But Paris, which was counting on an intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to restore constitutional order and return power to deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, had few options left to maintain in Niger.
A new blow to the fight against terrorism
On Sunday evening, the French president declared an end to the “military cooperation with the de facto authorities of Niger, because they no longer want to fight against terrorism”. “We are not here to be hostages of the putschists” which are “friends of disorder”said Emmanuel Macron, stressing that the jihadist attacks were “dozens of deaths every day in Mali”and which they had resumed with a vengeance in Niger.
For Thierry Vircoulon, coordinator of the Observatory on Central and Southern Africa at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), interviewed by The Parisianthis withdrawal decision is a “confession of helplessness” French. “The putschists are pushing France out and the President of the Republic has no other option than to withdraw his troops. Otherwise, it is called a military occupation”analyzes the one who believes that “L“France no longer has any future in the Sahel.” and that “war against jihadism is officially over“.
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This withdrawal of the 1,500 French soldiers based in Niger, which was one of Paris’s last allies in the Sahel, comes after those from Mali and Burkina Faso, where France has already been pushed towards the exit by hostile juntas. After ten years of anti-terrorist military operation in the region, the French presence will now be limited to Chad, where it has 1,000 soldiers.
However, Operation Barkhane “has been a success”, assured Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, recalling that Paris had intervened at the request of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. “Without it, most of these countries would have already been taken by territorial caliphates and jihadists”insisted the head of state, in a very virulent speech towards the juntas in the Sahel. “France, sometimes alone, has taken all its responsibilities, and I am proud of our military. But we are not responsible for the political life of these countries and we draw all the consequences”he conceded.
A very short deadline to complete the military withdrawal
The fact remains that the withdrawal of French troops from Niger represents a significant logistical challenge: it is necessary to repatriate the military, but also combat vehicles and other heavy equipment. In 2022, it took six months for the Barkhane force to leave Mali. In Niger, France takes half the time.
For their part, the soldiers in power in Niamey celebrated, on Sunday evening, “a new step towards sovereignty”. “The French troops as well as the French ambassador will leave Nigerien soil by the end of the year. It is a historic moment which testifies to the determination and will of the Nigerien people”they reacted in a press release read on national television. “Any person, any institution or structure whose presence threatens the interests and projections of our country will have to leave the land of our ancestors whether they like it or not”, the text continues. Further proof of the very high tensions between Paris and Niamey, the military regime had banned French planes from its airspace a few hours before Emmanuel Macron’s interview.