Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, once again hammered on Saturday on RFI that the international community “unanimously” demanded the restoration of democracy in Niger “immediately and before the expiry of the deadline set by the countries of the region, which falls tomorrow”, Sunday.
On Friday, the chiefs of staff of the Economic Community of West African States met to “define the contours of a possible military intervention” against the Nigerien junta, announced an official of the organization. regional. “I believe that the prospect of having to come to other means must be taken very seriously. […] So they have until tomorrow to renounce this adventurism, these personal adventures, and restore democracy in Niger,” declared the head of French diplomacy.
“Coups are no longer necessary and are no longer appropriate, it’s one coup too many, it’s unacceptable,” she reacted.
A withdrawal of the French army from Niger “not on the agenda”
The questioning of the French anti-terrorist system in the Sahel is “not on the agenda”, estimated the head of French diplomacy, questioned on the denunciation of the military cooperation agreements by the putschists in Niger, a key country in these measures.
“It is not on the agenda, even if (…) this cooperation had to be suspended, due to the coup attempts that have been underway for a little over a week now in Niger” , said Catherine Colonna.
“A serious error in judgment”, according to Lecornu
Niger has been a key element of the French anti-jihadist system in the Sahel, since the forced departure from Mali wanted by the junta in power in this country in the summer of 2022.
Niger initially served mainly as a transit base for operations in Mali, before hosting the heart of the French military system, on the projected air base (BAP) in Niamey, where five Reaper drones are permanently deployed and at the least three Mirage fighter jets. A withdrawal of 1,500 French soldiers would be a new setback for Paris in its fight against jihadism.
For his part, the Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, declared in an exclusive interview with AFP that the coup attempt in Niger was a “serious error of judgment” which “weakens the fight against terrorism” in the Sahel and “takes hostage the population of Niger”. “We see that ECOWAS is taking its responsibilities in the management of this crisis, with strong positions taken in favor of respect for international law, democratic processes”, he added about the ultimatum.