Niger Coup: France to Evacuate European Citizens

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Facts

  • The French Foreign Ministry has announced that starting on Tuesday, France will begin evacuating French and European citizens from Niger who wish to leave the country following a military coup last week.1
  • While Germany has stated that it urges German nationals to accept France's offer, both Italy and Spain have also announced plans to evacuate their citizens from Niger.2
  • The coup leaders, who last Wednesday confined Niger's elected President Mohamed Bazoum to his house, have accused France of wishing to "intervene militarily" in the state. Meanwhile, France has stated it is focused on the safety of its nationals and interests.3
  • Despite this, French President Emmanuel Macron has promised an "immediate and uncompromising" response if French citizens or interests were harmed following rallies outside the French embassy in Niger's capital of Niamey.4
  • There are believed to be approximately 600 French nationals in Niger, which is a former colony of France. Burkina Faso and Mali — neighbors of Niger and fellow former French colonies who have experienced their own military coups in recent years — have stated that attempts to restore Bazoum would be seen as a declaration of war.5
  • The news comes as the ECOWAS bloc, a 15-nation group of West African states, threatened military force against Niger's coup leaders if Bazoum's government is not restored within a week starting from this past Sunday, July 30.6

Sources: 1FT, 2Al Jazeera (a), 3France 24, 4Al Jazeera (b), 5BBC News, and 6Reuters.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Le Monde. While the delicate evacuation will take several days, given the plethora of coups witnessed in the Sahel in recent years, plans have long been in place in case a situation as worrying as Bazoum's overthrow occurred. The news is damaging to the Sahel region, and there's plenty of evidence to suggest that Russia is already exerting newfound influence within the state. France, other Western nations, and ECOWAS should be prepared to take action.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Niger Express. With an election without a lack of a popular majority rigged in favor of Bazoum only leading to poor management of the country, there should be no desire to see the president return to power. This is not the first time Niger has experienced a military coup, and no president has ever successfully returned from deposition.