Le Figaro: Paris views Washington’s stance on Niger with concern

The military coup in Niger has been an important point of contention for France in its relations with the United States, whose Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, sat at the dialogue table with the coup plotters on August 7, reports Le Figaro.

Washington’s diplomatic involvement in the situation around the African country since the beginning of the crisis did not sit well with Paris, which adopted a clear line and without hesitation in this regard, being firm in the need to restore the deposed president to his position. Mohamed Bazoum.

Nuland’s negotiations with the members of the Nigerien military junta have been “too hard a blow,” a source in French diplomacy told the newspaper. The arrival in Niger of the American ambassador Kathleen Fitzgibbon, whose appointment was validated on July 27, 2023, one day after the military coup, after the position had been vacant for a year and a half, did not help either, since for Paris it represented “almost a official recognition” of the board, he added.

“They did exactly the opposite of what we thought they would do,” said the diplomat. «For Emmanuel Macron, the credibility of France was at stake, especially in terms of the discourse on democracy. For Americans, although they are also concerned about a rapid return to constitutional order, the priority is stability in the region,” he explained.

Now Paris fears that Washington, motivated by the desire to maintain its bases in Niamey and Agadez above anything else, could reach an agreement with the coup plotters in Niger behind the French government’s back. The diplomat believes that the US will soon put aside the demands related to democracy to “draw a line in the return to constitutional legality” in order to “preserve its bases.”

In total, Niger hosts about 1,300 American troops throughout the country. Its presence is key in the Sahelo-Saharan strip: only the Agadez airfield allows US drones to take off and deploy their surveillance network to Libya.

Washington, convinced that it had an important advantage by having “its man” among the coup plotters, General Barmou, trained in the United States and who had maintained a close relationship with the North American country, did not seem to receive signs of good will. on his behalf, reports Le Figaro, which points out that it was with this soldier that Nuland spoke with during his visit to Niger.

France as a scapegoat

While both the US and France maintain relatively similar numbers of troops in the Sahel, much of the animosity towards the presence of foreign forces is directed specifically against the European nation, which due to its colonial past has become a a sort of scapegoat blamed for economic and security failures.

The difference in treatment was noticeable when the Nigerien military junta did not question the defense agreements with the Americans, despite repeated calls from the population, who urged from the streets for the withdrawal of “all foreign forces from Niger.” ».

“The United States, like our other allies, has the habit of letting us take the hits,” summarized the French diplomat, also implying that Paris has nothing to expect from the new leaders of the African country.

The US is not the only country that has distanced itself from the French line in Niger. So far, Germany, Belgium and Italy have also not questioned the legitimacy of the demands of the Nigerien military authorities, especially when they demand the departure of French troops.

«Germany needs Niger to guarantee the withdrawal of its troops from Mali. As for Italy, which also has a military presence in the country, it is more concerned about stability at all costs, to avoid a new migration crisis. In their eyes, Niger is essentially one of the locks of the sub-Saharan migratory corridors,” notes Le Figaro. With RT

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