By John Ikani
France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, announced on Sunday that the nation will withdraw its troops from Niger in the wake of a July coup in the West African country.
The move marks a significant setback to French influence and counter-insurgency efforts in the Sahel region.
Macron revealed that approximately 1,500 troops would complete their withdrawal by year-end, asserting that France, the former colonial power in Niger, would not allow itself to be “held hostage by the putschists.”
This decision by France, which followed weeks of pressure from the junta and public protests, is likely to amplify Western concerns about Russia’s growing presence in Africa.
The Russian mercenary group known as Wagner is already active in Mali, Niger’s neighbouring country.
Although President Macron does not recognize the junta as Niger’s legitimate authority, he emphasized that Paris would cooperate with the coup leaders to ensure an orderly troop withdrawal.
“We will consult with the putschists because we want things to be orderly,” Macron stated in an interview with France’s TF1 and France 2 television stations.
In addition to the troop withdrawal, France’s ambassador is being recalled and will return to the country in the coming hours, Macron announced.
French influence in its former colonies in West Africa has diminished in recent years, coinciding with increased popular discontent.
French forces have been expelled from Mali and Burkina Faso following coups in those nations, reducing their involvement in the regional fight against deadly Islamist insurgencies.
Before the coup, Niger had served as a crucial security partner for both France and the United States, who used it as a base in their efforts against Islamist insurgencies in the wider Sahel region of West and Central Africa.
France’s military base in Niamey, Niger’s capital, had become a focal point for anti-French protests since the July 26 coup.
Demonstrators frequently gathered on the streets to demand the withdrawal of troops stationed there.
In one protest earlier this month, tens of thousands rallied against France, symbolically slaying a goat dressed in French colours and bearing coffins adorned with French flags.
Pro-coup demonstrators in Niamey displayed Russian flags, heightening Western nations’ concerns that Niger might follow Mali’s example and replace their troops with Wagner fighters.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the former chief of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, spoke on social media before his death in a plane crash last month, expressing ambitions of expanding Russian influence on all continents, including Africa.
The future of Wagner has been uncertain since his demise.
Wagner is also active in the Central African Republic and Libya, and although Western nations allege its presence in Sudan, it denies any involvement there. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a return to constitutional order in Niger.
It’s worth noting that a small fraction of French nuclear power plants, less than 10%, rely on uranium sourced from Niger, where France’s state-owned company Orano operates a mine in the northern region.
Macron reaffirmed his recognition of democratically elected President Mohammed Bazoum, currently detained by the coup leaders, as Niger’s legitimate leader and informed him of France’s decision.
