The military in Niger, who carried out a coup against the regime of President Mohamed Bazoum and seized power on July 26, ordered the French ambassador to leave the country at the end of August, after Paris refused to comply with the deadline demanded for his departure.
Since then, France has continued to oppose this departure, considering that this government in Niger does not have the legitimacy to make such a request.
“In Niger, as I speak to you, we have an ambassador and diplomatic staff who have been taken hostage in the French embassy,” Macron said during his visit to the Saumur-en-Auxois region in central-eastern France.
He added that the soldiers “deny (these) food, and the ambassador takes military food rations.”
Macron pointed out that Ambassador Sylvain Ette “no longer has the possibility of leaving. He is an undesirable person.”
When asked about the possibility of the ambassador returning to Paris, Macron said, “I will do what we will agree on with President Bazoum because he is the one with the legitimate authority and I speak to him every day.”
For her part, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna confirmed that Sylvain Ette is “working” and will remain in his position as long as President Macron wants to.
“He is very useful to us thanks to his contacts and the contacts his team makes. There is still a small team around him,” Colonna added on Friday evening.
She continued, “He will remain as long as we want him to stay. It is a decision that rests with the President of the Republic.”
France still considers Bazoum the legitimate president of Niger.
Macron confirmed on Sunday that any possible redeployment of French forces in Niger would only take place at the request of President Mohamed Bazoum.
On August 3, coup leaders in Niger announced the cancellation of several military cooperation agreements with France, which deploys about 1,500 soldiers in the country as part of its broader battle against jihadists.
On the other hand, Macron confirmed that France “will continue to welcome” artists from the Sahel region, after many cultural workers opposed a directive requiring the suspension of all forms of cooperation with artists from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
But he explained that this would be more difficult for artists from Niger if they did not have a visa, because access to French consular services was no longer possible.
Macron said, “We do not prohibit this, but the whole matter is that we cannot grant (access to the embassy) because of the coup plotters and for security reasons.”
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