French President Emmanuel Macron told France 2 TV that there are no longer any paternalistic links between his country and the countries of French-speaking Africa.
According to him, “There is no longer any Françafrique. When there are coups d’état, we don’t interfere in the political life of these countries. “At the request of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, we have been on their territory to fight terrorism.
Emmanuel Macron also said, “Basically, there are largely ethnic settling of scores and a lot of political cowardice”.
This comes after President Macron on Sunday, made an announcement stating that France would be withdrawing its ambassador from Niger.
This will be followed by the withdrawal of the French military contingent in the coming months. The decision has been well received by Niger’s military leaders, who see it as a positive step towards achieving sovereignty.
Macron’s announcement follows a coup in the west African country, which occurred two months ago and resulted in the removal of the president who was supportive of Paris.
France has made the decision to recall its ambassador. “Our ambassador and several diplomats will be returning to France in the next few hours,” Macron stated in an interview with French television. However, he did not provide any specific information regarding the organisation of their return.
Macron stated that military cooperation has come to an end, and French troops will gradually withdraw in the upcoming months and weeks, aiming to complete the full pullout by the end of this year.
