In Niger, the junta plays the division between France and the United States

2023-08-15 20:44:07
Leaders of the military council in Niamey, Niger, August 6, 2023. STRINGER / REUTERS

Faced with the – increasingly hypothetical – threat of an agitated military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to restore constitutional order in Niger, time is the putschists’ best ally. in power in Niamey. It plays all the more in their favor as the divisions on the African continent are expressed between the partisans of a hard line and those advocating dialogue. Differences of approach that also exist among Westerners and especially between Americans and French.

The two powers were the most unconditional allies of the democratically elected head of state. But since the July 26 coup, Washington and Paris have not used the same tone. France not only demands the release of Mohamed Bazoum, held prisoner by General Abdourahamane Tiani’s men, but also his reinstatement in the presidential chair from which the army dislodged him. It supports more openly the military option defended by certain African countries, in particular Nigeria, which exercises the presidency of ECOWAS, and Côte d’Ivoire.

In the same logic, not recognizing the decisions of a junta which it considers illegitimate, France does not intend to withdraw the approximately 1,500 French soldiers deployed in Niger. Some of them were previously stationed in Mali and Burkina Faso. Two border countries, also led by putschist officers who no longer accepted the presence of the French army on their territories.

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Anti-French rhetoric

Less targeted than Paris by the military in power, who use anti-French rhetoric to obtain the good graces of part of public opinion, American diplomacy is more flexible. “France and the United States share the same analysis on the need to contain the spread of jihadist groups in the Sahel. They both condemn coups d’etat and consider that juntas offer no security guarantees.”observes Michael Shurkin, director of programs at 14 North Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in African affairs. “In Washington, of course, there is no consensus between those who consider the defense of democratic values ​​a priority and those who consider that the use of force is useless. But most believe that a channel of discussion with the junta must be kept open, as in Mali, moreover, even if this means distancing oneself from France.adds this specialist in European and American defense strategies.

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