France‘s ambassador to Niger, Sylvain Itte, amidst prolonged discord with the country’s post-coup government, arrived back in Paris on Wednesday.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna met Sylvain Itte ‘to thank him and his teams for his work in the service of our country under difficult conditions,’ the ministry said in a written statement to AFP.
After a lapse of two months since a coup in Niger ousted its pro-Paris president and led to a deterioration in France’s relations with its former colony, the ambassador’s return aligns with Niger’s new rulers’ insistence on his departure.
Itte departed from Niamey with six colleagues at approximately 4:00 am, according to an earlier statement from a diplomatic source to AFP.
Read also: France Finally Set To Withdraw Ambassador, Troops From Niger
In a televised interview on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron made the announcement that the ambassador would be leaving “in the coming hours.”
Niger’s military leaders, who had unseated the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, were pleased with the announcement.
Itte, who was born in the Malian capital of Bamako in 1959, had been the ambassador to Niger for a year.
With a career in diplomacy that extended over 35 years, he had previously fulfilled the role of ambassador to Uruguay and Angola.
Once they had seized power from Bazoum, the Junta had issued an order for Itte to vacate the country, nullifying the envoy’s diplomatic immunity and visa.
Despite the issuance of a 48-hour ultimatum in August for his departure, Itte remained in his role, as the French government refused to adhere to it or acknowledge the legitimacy of the military regime.
Paris had contended that only Bazoum’s overthrown government possessed the legitimacy to demand the envoy’s exit.
On Wednesday, Macron’s office reaffirmed France’s backing for the deposed president.
According to the Elysee Palace, he had assured Hassoumi Massaoudou, the former foreign minister in the deposed government, of France’s commitment to reestablishing constitutional order in Niger.