Analysts have contended that the coup in Niger poses a huge challenge for French President Emmanuel Macron, raising pertinent questions about France’s military engagement in the nation and the implications this may have on his wider approach to Africa.
Following coups in Mali and Burkina Faso during 2021 and 2022, Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum now faces a similar situation, making it the third of such upheaval in the region within three years, prompting the withdrawal of French troops.
For Macron, the Niger coup is especially challenging as he had aimed to cultivate a close partnership with Niamey, intending to establish it as a strategic center for France’s operations in the region after the Mali coup.
Macron finds himself grappling with a range of dilemmas as he withdraws to Fort Bregancon, the French presidential Mediterranean residence, for his summer holiday, now under the shadow of the prevailing crisis.
Read also: France’s Macron Frowns At Niger Coup, Deems It ‘Dangerous’
Back in December 2018, Macron made a firm commitment that France would continue its involvement in the battle against jihadists in the Sahel region of Africa ‘until the victory is complete.’ However, this pledged now seems uncertain and faces challenges.
‘History repeats itself, the setbacks are accumulating,’ Pascal Boniface, director of the French Institute of International and Strategic Affairs, told AFP.
‘If the putschists stay in power in Niamey, it will be very difficult to leave our soldiers there.’
As of now, France has deployed 1,500 soldiers in Niger, with an extra 1,000 troops stationed in the neighboring country, Chad.
The military made it clear this week that evacuating soldiers from Niger, just like civilians, is not a priority at this time.
In contrast to Mali and Burkina Faso, the junta in Niger has not yet raised any concerns or questions about defense agreements with Paris.
Francois Gaulme, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations, warns that relying solely on Niger and Chad for redeploying French troops after the coups in Burkina and Mali is a mistaken approach.
He further commented that the eventual departure of French soldiers from Niger was a certainty as long as the putschist General Abdourahamane Tiani remained in control.