There is no way France will withdraw its ambassador, Sylvain Itté, from Niger, despite the order given to him by the Nigerien authorities on Friday 25 August to leave the country within 48 hours. On Tuesday 29 August, the EU was keen to support the French ambassador in Niamey.
“The decision of the putschists to expel the French ambassador is a new provocation which cannot in any way help to find a diplomatic solution to the current crisis. The European Union expresses its full support for the French ambassador”, declared the spokeswoman for the European External Action Service, Nabila Massrali, in a statement published late afternoon on Monday 28 August.
She reiterated that after the military coup of 26 July, which saw General Abdourahamane Tchiani overthrow the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, who is still being held by the putschists in his presidential palace: “The European Union does not recognise and will not recognise the authorities resulting from the putsch in Niger”.
The Niger Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had invited Sylvain Itté to a meeting, had justified its request for his expulsion by citing “the French ambassador’s refusal to respond to the invitation” “and other actions by the French government contrary to the interests of Niger”.
On the morning of Monday 28 August, when the ultimatum had expired the previous evening, French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at the Élysée Palace to the French diplomatic corps, confirmed that Ambassador Itté was still in Niamey and that France refused to recognise “illegitimate authorities”.
According to him, “the policy we are pursuing is the right one. It is based on the courage of President Bazoum, on the commitment of our diplomats, on our ambassador who is on the ground, who remains despite the pressure and despite all the declarations of illegitimate authorities, thanks to the commitment of our internal security forces and our military,”.
He added: “Our policy is simple: we do not recognize the putschists, we support a president who has not resigned and we support the diplomatic and, when it decides, military action of ECOWAS in a partnership approach, which is the one I presented last February. Neither paternalism nor weakness, because otherwise we are nowhere”, said Emmanuel Macron.
Brushing aside the aspirations for sovereignty expressed by the putschists and the demonstrators who support them, he warned against the temptation to “give in to the narrative used by the coup plotters which consists of saying that our enemy is France.”.
The situation in the Sahel, and in Niger in particular, will be discussed by the European Defence Ministers, followed by the Foreign Affairs Ministers, in Toledo (Spain) on 30 and 31 August, at an informal meeting chaired by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell (see other news). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)