A pause to see more clearly. The French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu announced in an interview with Figaro published on Friday evening the temporary suspension of military cooperation between France and Gabon following Wednesday’s coup.
There, 400 French soldiers “do training” and “have always been alongside the Gabonese army. At present, their activities have been suspended pending clarification of the political situation,” the Minister commented.
These “pre-positioned” forces are tasked with the protection of French nationals, operational monitoring – if reinforcements are needed on ongoing operations – and cooperation with the national armies of Gabon and neighboring countries such as Cameroon for exercises or even formations.
“We cannot put Niger and Gabon on the same level”
Putschist soldiers announced on Wednesday that they had put an “end to the regime in place” in Gabon and had placed the president in power for fourteen years under house arrest, just after the official announcement of his victory in the presidential election organized on Saturday.
The French Minister for the Armed Forces nevertheless wanted to differentiate between coups in Gabon and Niger, where soldiers have been holding democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum prisoner since the end of July, which France disputes.
“France condemns all acts of force […] However, we cannot equate the situation in Niger, where illegitimate soldiers have deposed a legitimately elected president, and that of Gabon, where the motive advanced by the soldiers is precisely the non-respect of the electoral law. and of the Constitution. Because in fact, and, I am weighing my words, there are doubts about the sincerity of the elections in this country, ”underlines Sébastien Lecornu.