/ world today news/ The coup d’état in the Republic of Niger is not a new event in the Sahel region. However, it has become one of the most discussed topics in the world and in France for several reasons. First, it happened at the most inconvenient time, when almost all the major players in Western politics are embroiled in an almost direct confrontation with Russia in Ukraine.
Second, the importance of this country – the last outpost of the forces involved in the anti-terrorist operation “Barkhan” – can hardly be overestimated.
Finally, the events that took place led to the discussion of a number of topics that are unpleasant for the forces that contest their influence in this territory: how preparations for the coup were missed by representatives of American and French intelligence; whence comes the anti-French sentiment among Nigeriens; what are the reasons for the decline of french influence in its former colonial possessions?
Ukraine remained in the background
On July 26, a military group announced the arrest and removal of President Mohamed Bazum, the suspension of all institutions of the republic and the imposition of a curfew. The reaction of the world public followed almost instantly.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which includes Niger, strongly condemned this “attempted takeover” and demanded the immediate release of the “democratically elected” Bazum “without any conditions”.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in Papua New Guinea at the time of the coup, called the rebels’ actions illegal and dangerous for Nigerians and residents of the entire region. He also announced an immediate suspension of all payments for the development of the country to the budget.
The head of American diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, expressed his country’s full support for the ousted president on behalf of his country. He was joined by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
We can say that this topic somewhat overshadowed the Ukrainian agenda in the French media. It was discussed which side the Nigerian military is on, whether the ECOWAS countries will send troops to Niger, whether it will be possible to influence the new authorities, what will be the process of evacuating French citizens.
Immediately after his arrival from the trip, Macron called an emergency meeting of the security council. Le Canard Enchant reports that the president was furious at the work of the Directorate-General for External Security, whose officers were part of the French military contingent in Niger as part of Operation Barhan: “Niger after Mali is too much!”
The US also suffered
But France was not the only one defeated in this story. One of the leaders of the coup d’état, General Moussa Salau Barmo, who was appointed by the rebels as Chief of the General Staff and previously headed the country’s special services, studied at the most prestigious American military institutions for more than 30 years.
In 2004, he was appointed commander of the first special unit to fight Islamists and jihadists. He became a key link in the US system of training commandos from local security forces. Speaking of the 1990s, when Islamists tried to infiltrate and establish themselves in Niger, Barmu recalled last November: “Some chose to ignore this problem, some tried to negotiate with the terrorists. In Niger, we decided not to give in one iota.” At the same time, he emphasized the important role that the partnership with the US plays for his country.
Barmu maintains friendly relations with representatives of the US Embassy in charge of special operations in the region. He also demonstrated his pro-American sympathies and anti-French stance. A few weeks before the coup, the US military released a photo of him with US special operations commander Jonathan Braga at a base in Niamey.
The general has now refrained from comment and only gave a reserved answer to the Wall Street Journal’s question about whether he understood that relations with the United States would deteriorate after the coup. “That’s the price to pay,” he said. However, the US military is still hoping for mediation in establishing contacts with the coup plotters. And it was with him that Victoria Newland met during her brief and fruitless visit to Niger on August 7.
“Kremlin’s campaign” reopened
The coup, which came suddenly to the French, forced the public to discuss its origins and causes. Many recall Macron’s promises to revive the association “Françafrique” – the French-speaking countries of Africa, which serves as an occasion to speculate about another failure of the current president’s policies.
But it cannot do without the “favorite enemy” – Russia. For example, the publication “Le Monde” repeatedly reminds its readers of the information campaign to denigrate France “launched by the Kremlin”. Among the agents of influence are the media resources of the “Wagner” group, as well as journalists and bloggers who remind the inhabitants of African countries about the help of the USSR in the struggle of their peoples for independence.
The newspaper also spoke of videos circulating on social networks, telling in particular how aid to starving Africa became a tool of Western powers in negotiations for a grain deal, after which almost all the grain settled in Europe. According to the newspaper, the work of such profiles is closely monitored by journalists, and the Meta company actively blocks them as part of the “fight against disinformation”.
Growing pro-Russian sentiment
But representatives of the scientific and intellectual community of France and Francophone Africa see the reasons for what is happening rather in the destabilization of the situation in the region and the peculiarities of the foreign policy line in this direction.
Thus, the Cameroonian historian Akile Mbembe believes that we are now witnessing the beginning of a new era both in the world and in Africa in particular. According to him, France’s colonial practices of interaction with the newly independent African states had discredited the concept of democracy. And this, in turn, forms the idea that problems can only be solved by force.
Azamat Boukari-Yabara, a historian from Benin, says anti-French sentiment in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Algeria and elsewhere is also explained by France’s role in toppling Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, which led to disaster for both Libya and to the entire region. He also recalls the words of Emmanuel Macron, said in 2017, about what, in his opinion, hinders the full development of African countries: “In a country where a woman has 7-8 children, you can invest billions of euros, but not get nothing”. Such a humiliating attitude, according to the historian, offends the younger generation.
And researcher Camille Lefebvre says the French have extremely little interest in African countries. To such an extent that few of her compatriots will immediately find Niger on a geographical map. At the same time, she believes, French experts do not consider it necessary to improve their knowledge of the countries that were French colonies in the past. And even now, during the coup d’état, journalists are only interested in the return of French citizens and the fate of French uranium mining enterprises. Paradoxically, says Camille Lefebvre, since 2014 the level of knowledge of the French about Ukraine has grown exponentially and reached very high levels.
“I would like to think that as long as there is talk of a military invasion of Niger, there will be no concrete action.” Mali and Burkina Faso pledged to support the country’s new government in case of aggression from outside. The United States and France are concerned about the rise of pro-Russian sentiment in the Sahel region and fear that representatives of PMC Wagner will now gain a foothold in Niger,” she said.
For now, however, ECOWAS members, neighboring major powers such as Algeria, as well as countries in Europe and the United States, call the diplomatic route the only possible one. On August 10, the capital of Nigeria, which chairs ECOWAS, will host the second summit on the situation in Niger.
In closing, we’d like to look at some numbers. In 2022, the French Development Agency transferred €120 million to Niger, a country of over 25 million people, to support various local government programs. In the same year, France spent 634 million euros just to accept 115,000 Ukrainian refugees. At the same time, Niger is a country where the official language is French, with which France has a long history and where 10% of the fuel for France’s nuclear power plants is produced.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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