France yesterday rejected the accusation of the coup plotters in Niger that it was preparing to intervene militarily in the African country to restore the overthrown president Mohamed Bazoum to power. From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris it was announced that "our priority is the safety of our citizens and our companies, that they are not victims of violence, in accordance with international law; we have no other goal".
Hours earlier, a statement from the coup d'état stated that France would be "looking for ways and means" to intervene in Niger, "with the complicity of some Nigeriens". There would even have been a meeting at the General Staff of the National Guard "to obtain the necessary political and military authorizations". The aim would be to release Bazoum, detained since Wednesday, and return him to his duties.
The accusation in France is interpreted in Paris as a way for the coup plotters to stir up anti-French resentment in the streets and, at the same time, legitimize those who have gained power. Meanwhile, Bazoum's party accused the coup plotters of carrying out abusive arrests, including four ministers and other leaders, in a drift towards "a dictatorial and totalitarian regime".
It is likely that the tension will increase as the expiration of the ultimatum that was launched on Sunday by the Economic Community of West African States (CEDEAO), the leaders, meeting in Abuja (Nigeria), of the which they gave a deadline of one week for the military rebellion to cease and Bazoum to regain power. ECOWAS did not rule out the use of force to achieve the objective. It is not known whether the visit to Niamey by the president of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, commissioned as a mediator by ECOWAS, produced any tangible results. The Chadian leader interviewed the new Nigerien strongman, Abdourahamane Tiani, and also Bazoum.
The pressure, meanwhile, continues. Germany joined other European countries in announcing that it was also suspending development aid to Niger and direct financial support to its Government.
Russia's attitude, until now officially very cautious, is being watched carefully, given the fear that it will take advantage of the situation to advance the pawns, in this case the Wagner militia, already present in Mali, the Central African Republic and other countries. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, asked to "restore legality in the country as soon as possible" and called for "restraint from all parties".
In France, the situation is confirming the worst omens about the failure of the Paris strategy in the Sahel. It is a predicted catastrophe. The analyzes are fairly consistent. "Niger, the French blindness", prayed the big headline, yesterday, of the rotary L'Opinion. What is happening "is another nail in the coffin of our ambitions", wrote the newspaper. The French military has been expressing frustration for years with a deployment, since 2013, that has only achieved occasional successes, but has not changed the dynamics of some countries with structural problems that will take decades to resolve. Three years ago, the specialist in Africa Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos published a premonitory book, entitled Una guerra perduda. The prestigious geopolitical scientist Pascal Boniface highlighted yesterday, in an interview with the LCI channel, the French contradictions, which undermine its credibility. Boniface recalled that, in 2021, Paris had no objections to support the seizure of power by Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno in Chad, after the death of his father, Idriss Déby, while it is now scandalized by the coup in Niger .
