“We will react in case of attack on the French”

2023-07-30 17:59:54

Time.news – Thousands of pro-coup protesters gathered in front of the French embassy in Niger’s capital, Niamey, after Paris suspended aid to the African country following the coup. Some protesters attempted to enter the building, others tore down a plaque reading “French Embassy in Niger”, replacing it with flags of Niger and Russia, while others shouted “Long live Russia”, “Long live Putin” and “Down with France”.

Thousands participate in the pro-coup march

Thousands of people participate in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, in a march called in support of the coup carried out last Wednesday by a military junta, a march in which Russian flags were waved and slogans against France, Ecowas, the European Union and the African Union. Protesters then concentrated in the square in front of the National Assembly, coming from different parts of the city. In addition to waving Nigerien flags and Russian flags, protesters chanted slogans such as “Down with France, down with Barkhane, we don’t care about Ecowas, the European Union and the African Union!”.

© Afp

Assault on the French embassy in Niger

Another of the invocations that resonates among the demonstrators is the request to “arrest” those who were previously in government “so that they can return the stolen millions”. During the march they were all access routes to the French and US embassies were closedand tear gas was fired near the French legation to drive away protesters.

In the African country, Paris maintains 1,500 soldiers in its Barkhane counter-terrorism operation and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will hold a summit in Nigeria today to discuss the coup. The Nigerien military junta denounced on Saturday that Ecowas intends to approve at that summit a “plan of aggression against Niger through an imminent military intervention in Niamey”, and warned it of its “strong determination” to defend the country.

Although the military junta has prohibited all demonstrations, after Thursday’s violent looting of the party headquarters of the deposed president, it authorized the holding of this procession in support of the new coup government, the self-proclaimed National Council for the Protection of the Homeland (CNSP). After last Wednesday’s coup against President Mohamed Bazoum, Niger is controlled by a junta led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, commander of the Presidential Guard, who locked up Bazoum in his residence. (

Ecowas calls for Bazoum’s immediate release and reinstatement

Ecowas, the Economic Community of West African States, is calling for the immediate release and reinstatement of the president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, kidnapped in his residence since Wednesday, after the coup by a military junta in Niamey. Representatives of West African countries are meeting in an extraordinary summit convened in Abuja, Nigeria. Ecowas leaders have not ruled out the use of force in Niamey.

Paris: “We will react in case of attack on the French”

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, “will not tolerate any attack against France and its interests” in Niger and Paris will respond “immediately and without hesitation”, the Elysee said. “Anyone who attacks French citizens, the army, diplomats and French rights of passage would see France respond immediately and without hesitation. The President of the Republic will not tolerate any attack against France and his interests”, reads the note from the Elysée. According to the Quai d’Orsay, there are currently between 500 and 600 French citizens in Niger.