2024-02-02 01:49:13
Ties between France and Niger continue to be torn apart. Airlines serving Niamey, capital of the West African country, have decided to no longer take French passengers to this destination, AFP learned from airport sources on Wednesday.
“According to the Nigerien authorities, any passenger of French nationality is no longer authorized to re-enter Nigerien territory, consequently they will no longer be accepted on our flights to this destination,” indicates an internal Air Burkina memo consulted by the ‘AFP. In a press release published Wednesday evening, the Burkinabè company affirms that “this note does not emanate” from it and that it “cannot be held responsible for any consequences which could result from it”. The text says nothing about the boarding or not of French nationals.
A source close to the company Royal Air Maroc (RAM) indicated that “French passengers bound for Niamey can no longer board” RAM planes, “without special authorization from the Nigerien authorities and have been doing so for almost a year. week “. Other companies serving Niamey, such as Ethiopian Airlines, Asky, Air Tunisie and Turkish Airlines, did not initially respond to the question of whether they continued to take French nationals to Niger.
French people pushed back in Niamey
Also questioned, the Nigerien authorities have so far not confirmed that the French wishing or having to come to Niamey were now persona non grata on their territory. Several French people were recently turned away upon arrival at Niamey airport, according to airport sources.
The divorce between France and Niger began with the coming to power of the generals in Niamey, during a coup d’état on July 26. The military in power quickly demanded the departure of French soldiers – around 1,500 deployed to fight against the jihadists – and denounced several military agreements concluded with Paris. The French ambassador Sylvain Itté left the country at the end of September.
Embassy closed
Finally, in December, France decided to close its embassy. “It is no longer able to function normally or carry out its missions,” diplomatic sources explained. It has been officially closed “until further notice” since January 2. The embassy will continue its activities from Paris, announced the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After the coup d’état of July 26, the military in power quickly demanded the departure of French soldiers – around 1,500 deployed to fight against the jihadists – and denounced several military agreements concluded with Paris. The military regime also pronounced at the end of August the expulsion of the French ambassador Sylvain Itté. He remained stuck inside the diplomatic representation for almost a month before leaving it by decision of President Emmanuel Macron who ordered that he remain in place after the coup d’état.
The French newspaper Le Canard aîné mentioned a veto by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the publication of a book by Sylvain Itté, which, according to a diplomatic source, could have “been detrimental to our security interests”. Since France’s departure, Niger – like neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso also led by soldiers resulting from coups and facing jihadist violence – has moved closer to other partners, including Russia.
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