President Emmanuel Macron declared on Sunday in a broadcast interview on TF1 and France 2, that France will withdraw its ambassador from Niger and progressively withdraw its 1,500 troops by the end of the year. This decision comes two months after the bloodless coup that toppled Niger’s democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
“We were not [in Niger] to participate in politics nor to be the hostages of the putchists,” Macron told the interviewers, but to counter terrorism. Calling Bazoum Niger’s “only legitimate leader,” the French president said that Niger’s post-coup leadership “no longer wants to fight terrorism.”
Macron asserted that military cooperation with Niger is “over” and emphasized his preference for a diplomatic resolution through dialogue with coup leaders. However, he confirmed that the French ambassador and several diplomats “will return to France in the coming hours.”
France has had roughly 1,500 soldiers deployed in Niger as part of its efforts to put down extremist organizations in the Sahel region. These soldiers will return to France by the end of the year.
Tensions had escalated between France and Niger in recent weeks. The military junta had banned “French aircraft” from flying through Niger’s airspace, according to the Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar. It was unclear whether the ban would have any effect on the withdrawal of the French ambassador.
The situation in Niger has sparked international concern, with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threatening military action to return Bazoum to power, however no such action has yet been taken.
In August, Niger’s military junta revoked France’s ambassador’s diplomatic immunity and ordered police to expel him from the country after the end of the deadline.
Niger’s military leadership has hailed France’s decision to withdraw its ambassador and troops, viewing it as a step toward their country’s autonomy.