France has announced that it will end its military presence and diplomatic representation in Niger, following the coup that toppled the democratically elected president in July.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that France had decided to withdraw its ambassador and several diplomats from Niger in the next hours, and that the French troops would leave the country in the months to come. He added that he would consult the coup leaders on the withdrawal, as he wanted it to be done peacefully.
The French president also said that the coup authorities no longer wanted to fight against terrorism, and that France would not be held hostage by the putschists.
France has about 1,500 soldiers in Niger as part of an anti-jihadist deployment in the Sahel region, which has been plagued by Islamist insurgency for years.
The coup against Bazoum was the third such putsch in the region in as many years, following similar actions in Mali and Burkina Faso in 2021 and 2022 that also forced the pullouts of French troops. But the Niger coup is particularly bruising for Macron after he sought to make a special ally of Niamey, and a hub for France’s presence in the region after the Mali coup.
