The French in Niger were warned this Tuesday, August 1, by a message from the French Embassy in Niamey that an “air evacuation operation is being prepared” and “will take place very soon”.
“Faced with the deterioration of the security situation in Niger, and taking advantage of the relative calm in Niamey, an evacuation operation by air is being prepared from Niamey”, according to the message, which specifies that “it will take place very soon and in a very short period of time”.
In Paris, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that “an evacuation is being organized and will take place very quickly”.
The message to the French indicates that “this evacuation operation (…) has been coordinated with the Nigerien forces”. It specifies to French nationals that “the exact date, time and place of the assembly and departure point will be communicated to you as soon as possible” and that they will have to “join the assembly point” by their “own means”. .
France opponent designated by the putschists
The Nigerien soldiers who overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum, by accusing France on Monday of wanting to “intervene militarily” to restore him to office, took a step towards breaking with the disputed former colonial power. “We must dismantle the intox and not fall into the trap”, reacted the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, about the anti-French slogans which notably flourished during a demonstration in front of the French Embassy in Niamey. Sunday.
Thousands of people demonstrated, before being dispersed by tear gas. The demonstration began with a march towards the National Assembly, at the call of some leaders of the putsch, during which signs were brandished calling for the withdrawal of the 1,500 French soldiers deployed in Niger.
“We saw an organized demonstration, not spontaneous, violent, extremely dangerous, with molotov cocktails, Russian flags which appeared, anti-French slogans copied and pasted from what we can have elsewhere”, lamented Catherine Colonna, covering “all the usual ingredients of destabilization in the Russian-African way”.
Pressures on Niamey
The European Union and France have condemned the coup in Niger, a country considered an essential bulwark of stability in the volatile Sahel region. They suspended their budgetary aid to Niamey and warned that they could impose new sanctions following this putsch.
Mohamed Bazoum, a Western ally whose election just over two years ago marked Niger’s first peaceful transition of power since independence, was ousted on July 26 by the elite presidential guard.
On Sunday, ECOWAS leaders set a one-week ultimatum to the military junta in Niger for a “full return to constitutional order”, saying they did not rule out a “use of force” if it was not the case. They also decided to “suspend all commercial and financial transactions” between its member states and Niger, and to freeze the assets of military officials involved in the coup.