NIGER coup supporters rally after French ambassador ordered out

NIAMEY,  Niger, August 31, 2023 - Niger’s military junta that seized power last month on Thursday said it had revoked the French ambassador’s diplomatic immunity and instructed the police to expel him.

He had been told by the junta last Friday that he had 48 hours to leave the country in response to actions taken by the French government which it said were "contrary to the interests of Niger".

But the deadline passed on Monday without Paris recalling him.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that the ambassador would stay in Niger despite pressure from the military regime. And he reiterated Paris' support for ousted democratically-elected president Mohamed Bazoum.

D’après ce document qui date d’il y a 2 jours mais qui vient d’être rendu public, les autorités nigériennes estiment que @SylvainItte, l’ambassadeur de France, ne jouit plus de son immunité diplomatique et demandent à la police de procéder à son expulsion. pic.twitter.com/YP5lZ6l8RP

— Nicolas Bertrand (@nicolabertran) August 31, 2023

The French government said it does not recognise the coup leaders as the country's legitimate rulers. Since toppling the president, the junta has leveraged anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.

Nigerien demonstrators demanded French troops leave the Sahelian nation just hours before time ran out for the French envoy to leave the country.

Thousands rallied near a base where French military personnel are stationed in Niamey's outskirts on Sunday (Aug. 27), some could be heard singing 'Chiani', the name of the coup leader, or 'down with France'.

"I've come here to demand the departure of French troops from Niger. That's what I've come to demonstrate today," a protester said.

"They have to hear us. I know they can hear us. Every day, people come here, people suffer, and all ECOWAS has to do is increase the sanctions. We're here, we're going to resist until death."

1,500 French troops are deployed in Niger to back Bazoum's regime in the fight against terrorism.

According to French media reports, most of France's military capabilities in Niger are gathered in the Niamey airport. This includes fighter jets, Reaper drones, dozens of tanks and among tons of military materials.

"We don't want the French army in Niger. Let the French leave. Let them go back to France. We don't want them anymore. They killed our brothers, our fathers, our children. We don't want them anymore."

Following the July 26 coup that deposed president Mohamed Bazoum, France evacuated 1,079 people mainly French nationals by August 2nd.

France's envoy to Niger and its military personnel remained stationed in Niger.

Niger’s military administration has cut off water and electricity to the French Embassy in the capital Niamey. Not even food deliveries to the French embassy are allowed, as per reports on August 27. 

The Nigerien coup leaders have reportedly taken similar action at the French consulate in Zinder. ECOWAS Chairman told Islamic clerics who met Niger’s junta that the 3-year transition proposed by the coup leaders was unacceptable. 

Meanwhile, Pro-coup Nigeriens have threatened to storm the French Embassy and the French military base, if French troops and its envoy did not leave the country.

In early August, the junta said it will scrap various military cooperation deals with France that were made under the ousted President. France however objected arguing the new authorities had no legitimacy to scrap the agreements.

The Seyni Kountche stadium, the largest in Niger with a capacity of 30,000 seats, was two-thirds full and the sound of vuvuzelas rang out, AFP journalists noted.

The flags of Niger, Algeria, and Russia dotted the stands, while acrobats painted in Niger's national colours put on a show in the centre of the pitch.

"We have the right to choose the partners we want," said Ramatou Ibrahim Boubacar, wearing Nigerien flags from head to toe. "France must respect this choice.

"For sixty years, we have never been independent, only since the day of the coup d'etat," she said.

Boubacar added that the country fully supported the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), which seized power after overthrowing President Mohamed Bazoum's government on July 26.

The CNSP is led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, who has made former colonial power France its new target.

"The fight will not stop until the day there are no longer any French soldiers in Niger," CNSP member Colonel Obro Amadou told the stadium crowd on Saturday.