It’s a coincidence of the calendar. While the ultimatum set by the junta in Niger on the departure of French diplomat Sylvain Itté expired on Monday August 28, Emmanuel Macron has an appointment with the ambassadors on the occasion of their annual meeting at the Elysée. Niger, Europe, Iran… L’Express takes stock of the statements made by the President of the Republic.
Macron salutes the work of the Niger ambassador
Emmanuel Macron on Monday praised the work of French diplomats who are working in difficult conditions, citing in particular the situation in Niger where the ambassador is still in post, although the soldiers who took power have asked for his departure.
“France and the diplomats have been confronted in recent months with situations in certain particularly difficult countries, whether in Sudan where France has been exemplary, in Niger at this very moment and I salute your colleague and your colleagues who have been listening since their post,” said the French president.
The National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP) in power, headed by General Abdourahamane Tiani, asked Friday evening for the departure of the French ambassador stationed in Niamey, Sylvain Itté. The CNSP also denounced the military agreements between Niamey and Paris.
“Neither paternalism nor weakness because otherwise we are nowhere”, he said, also calling on the countries of the Sahel to have a “responsible policy” in the matter. “The weakness that some have shown with regard to previous putsches has nourished regional vocations. There is an epidemic of putsches throughout the Sahel,” he lamented.
The risk of weakening Europe
The European Union must “accept more integration”, even “several speeds” to “evolve on essential subjects”, said Emmanuel Macron on Monday.
“I can testify quite easily that a Europe of 27 is quite complicated to develop on essential subjects”, he declared to the French ambassadors, judging that “it will not be easier at 32 or 35 […] so we need a certain audacity to accept more integration on certain policies, perhaps moreover several speeds of this Europe”.
Iran: Macron calls for the release of the four Frenchmen
Emmanuel Macron on Monday demanded the release of the four French detainees “in unacceptable conditions” in Iran. “Nothing justifies the detention” of “French nationals in prisons and in unacceptable conditions in Iran”, declared the head of state. The four French people detained by Tehran are Louis Arnaud, since September 2022, a French teacher, Cécile Kohler, and her companion Jacques Paris, arrested in May 2022 for “espionage”, and another whose identity has not been revealed.
Blockade of Karabakh: Macron promises “an initiative”
French President Emmanuel Macron promised Monday “a diplomatic initiative” to try to lift the persistent blockage by Azerbaijan of the Lachin corridor, the only road linking Armenia to the enclave of Nagorny-Karabakh.
“I will have the opportunity to discuss this week with the (Armenian) Prime Minister Tachinian and with the (Azerbaijani) President Ilham Aliyev”, underlined the Head of State. “We will demand full respect for the Lachin Humanitarian Corridor and we will again take a diplomatic initiative in this direction internationally to increase the pressure.”