After Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of the recall of the French ambassador to Niamey and the withdrawal of French troops by the end of the year, another demand is emerging in civil society in Niamey.
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The M62, which pleads for the end of diplomatic and economic relations with France, asks the CNSP to withdraw from the French Orano (formerly Areva) the operating permit for the Imouraren site, a uranium deposit in the region of ‘Arlit, in the northwest of the country. For this movement, the operating permit for the Imouraren site is held “ illegally » by Orano. Its coordinator, Abdoulaye Seydou, also believes that the exploitation of Niger’s uranium does not benefit the Nigerien people enough.
Almoustpha Alhacen, who chairs an environmental protection NGO in Arlit, also thinks that Nigeriens should benefit from the benefits of their uranium and that there are things to improve with Orano. But for him, the request for withdrawal of the operating permit is not the solution.
Member of the collective of civil society organizations in the Agadez region, Barka Alhassane is for his part in favor of a win-win partnership and the adoption of a national policy for mining activities. He is awaiting the holding of national meetings which will provide future directions.
The French company Orano, present in Niger for more than 50 years, obtained the operating permit for the Imouraren deposit in 2009. Last May, an agreement was reached with the Ministry of Mines to relaunch the project. The group states that it has no comments to make on these statements.