France to leave Niger

After a marked increase in anti-French sentiment following a military coup in Niger on July 26, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will immediately withdraw its ambassador and remove its 1,500 soldiers over the next few months. The decision follows months of anti-French protests – linked to an increased presence of Russian mercenaries in the country – and escalating tensions between Paris and the coup leaders. Just hours before the announcement, the junta banned "French aircraft" from flying over the country.

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Macron said that he still regards Mohamed Bazoum, the democratically elected leader now held prisoner by the junta, as the country's "sole legitimate authority."

The move leaves France’s counter terrorism strategy in the Sahel region in tatters, after Paris was forced to withdraw its troops from neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso in recent years following military coups. France’s exit from resource-rich Niger will leave a power vacuum that both Russia’s Wagner Group and Islamic extremists will seek to fill.