France announced this Thursday, September 14, the release of Frenchman Stéphane Jullien, advisor to French people abroad based in Niger, who had been arrested by Nigerien security forces on September 8.
“France welcomes the release of Stéphane Jullien,” announced Anne-Claire Legendre, spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It serves as liaison with the embassy and the Consulate
The Quai d’Orsay made public the arrest of its national on Tuesday and called for “his immediate release”. However, he did not specify the circumstances of his arrest. A diplomatic source told AFP on Thursday that Stéphane Jullien had been released on Wednesday evening.
Stéphane Jullien is a business leader elected by the French living in Niger to represent them and serve as liaison with the French diplomatic services.
The putschists demand the departure of the French ambassador
This affair took place in an extremely tense context between Paris and Niamey, since the military coup of July 26 in Niger. Paris still considers the overthrown president Mohamed Bazoum, held captive by the junta, as the legitimate head of state, and has so far refused to respond to the putschists’ demands.
The latter are demanding the departure of the ambassador to Niamey and have denounced the defense agreements with France, which deploys 1,500 soldiers in Niger. Before the coup, Niger was one of its last allies in the Sahel and a key country in the French counter-terrorism system.