In July, a coup overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum and relations between the Nigerian military and France deteriorated
French President and reelection candidate Emmanuel Macron at a rally in Nanterre, west of Paris, on Saturday, April 2, 2022
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RFI French President Emmanuel Macron announced this Sunday (24) that Paris would repatriate its ambassador to Niger and would soon withdraw the presence of 1,500 French soldiers in the African country. In July, a coup overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum and relations between the Nigerian military and France deteriorated.
“There is no more ‘Françáfrica’. “If there is a coup, we will not intervene,” Macron said in an interview with the two major French television channels TF1 and France 2. The president explained that in this context the presence of French soldiers who have been in the former for several years Colony to combat terrorism in the region will be closed. “In the next few hours, our ambassador [Sylvain Itté] “We will return to France (…) and to our soldiers in the coming weeks and months,” he said. Completion is expected “by the end of the year”. The diplomat had already been declared “persona non grata” by the military junta in 2010.
“We are not there to be hostages of the coup plotters. “We will continue to help the African continent in the fight against terrorism, but only against democratically elected governments,” the head of state warned, highlighting the “success” of Operation Barkhane, launched in 2014 to curb the emergence of the Islamic State group the rise of AlQaeda and other jihadist organizations in Africa’s Sahel region. “Fraudsters love disorder. In Mali there are dozens of deaths every day,” he recalled, referring to another country where French military cooperation ended last year.
Tense relations with Niger The junta that took power in Niamey had previously signaled that it wanted the French contingent to leave the country. At the beginning of August, the military announced the end of the cooperation agreements signed with Paris. The regime said there was a meeting between the Nigerian chief of staff and the commander of French forces in the Sahel on September 1 to discuss “a plan for the withdrawal of French military capabilities.”
Before the July 26 coup, the West African country and former French colony was one of its last allies in the Sahel. France regards ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who is being held hostage by the ruling military junta, as the country’s legitimate president and rejects the putschists’ demands.
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France will not be able to “welcome all the misery in the world” In the interview, Emmanuel Macron also addressed Pope Francis’ criticism of European “indifference” to the arrival of thousands of migrants at the bloc’s borders. The Pope concluded this Saturday (23) a twoday visit to Marseille, in the south of France, during which the issue was raised.
The president said France was “doing its part” in welcoming migrants. “The Pope is right to call for a fight against indifference,” but “we, the French, are doing our part,” the leader said. “We cannot accept all the misery in the world,” he added, echoing former Socialist Prime Minister Michel Rocard’s famous phrase.
Macron called for a European response to “an approach consistent with the migrants’ countries of origin and transit” and urged “not to leave the Italians alone.” Italy is one of the main entry points into Europe for migrants coming from Africa via the Mediterranean.
Cooperation with Mediterranean countries He hopes that Europe will offer to “bring studies, specialists, equipment, etc.” to the countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, especially Tunisia. behind their backs to dismantle human traffickers” as part of “a respectful partnership.” “That’s what we do with the British. We agreed to have British experts in Calais to help us dismantle these smuggling networks and we have achieved very good results,” Macron explained.
Domestically, the president defended that the immigration bill being analyzed in the Senate in early November is the subject of an “intelligent compromise,” particularly on the contentious issue of legalizing undocumented immigrants to work in jobs where there is a labor shortage lacking. in France.
“We must not be hypocrites: there are actually jobs that are under stress and that employ many women and men who come from countries of immigration and who have often been in a precarious situation for several years,” recalled the head of state. But he warns: “There is no unconditional right to regularization.” That will never happen.”