https://sputnikglobe.com/20230818/divisions-over-niger-military-takeover-creating-new-frays-in-franco-american-relationship-1112716492.html
Divisions Over Niger Military Takeover Creating New Frays in Franco-American Relationship
Divisions Over Niger Military Takeover Creating New Frays in Franco-American Relationship
Sputnik International
The US and France are at odds over how best to respond to the military takeover in Niger. While they share a goal of restoring the ousted pro-Western government, Washington has upset Paris by charting its own path.
2023-08-18T20:36+0000
2023-08-18T20:36+0000
2023-08-18T20:35+0000
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French diplomats are furious that their American counterparts are willing to speak with the Nigerien government in power, especially without preconditions, according to reports in Western media. They fear that any kind of engagement will further legitimize the Nigerien military’s actions.So far, Paris has refused to engage with the military government, but Washington hasn’t, with acting Deputy US Secretary of State Victoria Nuland traveling to Niamey earlier this month to meet with government representatives.“We all have the same aim of restoring constitutional order, but with just a couple nuances expressed [between countries],” the diplomat added.Nuland’s visit accomplished little, but the Americans reportedly believe the Nigerien military can still be convinced to yield power. However, Washington has still partially evacuated its Niamey embassy and severed aid to the Sahelian nation, which is among the world’s poorest.After the military seized power on July 26 and placed the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, under house arrest, the new government asked French forces to leave the country - they refused. As talk grew of a military intervention, either by the US, France, or the West African bloc ECOWAS, the governments of Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea issued a joint statement declaring an attack on Niger was an attack on all four countries.That hasn’t stopped ECOWAS from pushing ahead with intervention plans, summoning its member nations’ standby forces and holding preparatory talks in Ghana on Thursday. Cote D’Ivoire, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Nigeria have all shown support for the initiative.Over the last three years, the other three nations - all former French colonies like Niger - have seen coups, uprisings, and revolutions that have deposed unpopular pro-French governments. With the exception of Guinea, the Sahelian countries have seen years of war as French forces waged a War-on-Terror-style military campaign against Islamist rebels, many of whom have capitalized on the chaos in nearby Libya created by the NATO war that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The highly unpopular wars, which have succeeded more at killing innocent civilians than they have at quashing the rebels, have been increasingly opposed by local residents, and the new governments have severed their cooperation with French operations after coming to power.Niger was a French colony until winning its independence in 1960. Despite the formal separation, France has retained a powerful hold on Nigerien politics and economics, with French companies owning all or part of the three largest uranium mines in Niger, which together supply fuel to nuclear power plants that keep one-third of the lights on in France. Meanwhile, 90% of the Nigerien population has zero access to electricity, and Niger gets to keep just 13% of the value of the uranium mined there.This isn’t the first time Washington has stepped on Paris’ toes in recent years. Last year, the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by the US Congress provoked outcry from the government of French President Emmanuel Macron, saying it would undermine Europe’s attempts at a clean energy transition by sapping investment away from the continent.In 2021, the US and UK infuriated France by convincing Australia to sever a massive deal to buy French-made submarines in favor of a plan to supply Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines made by the US and later by the UK. The deal underpinned the formation of the AUKUS bloc, a thinly-veiled anti-China effort. Paris called the reversal a “betrayal” and afterward expressed renewed interest in a European Union military force that wouldn’t be dependent on the United States.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230817/france-remains-vague-over-possible-withdrawal-of-french-troops-from-niger-1112660236.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230814/us-believes-military-intervention-in-niger-last-resort-option-1112592378.html
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niger; nigerien military; military takeover; military leadership; franco-american relations; ecowas
niger; nigerien military; military takeover; military leadership; franco-american relations; ecowas
Divisions Over Niger Military Takeover Creating New Frays in Franco-American Relationship
The United States and France are once again at odds, this time over how best to respond to the military takeover in Niger last month. While the two allies share a common goal of restoring the ousted pro-Western government, Washington has upset Paris by charting its own path in what the French commonly regard as their own backyard.
French diplomats are furious that their American counterparts are willing to speak with the Nigerien government in power, especially without preconditions, according to reports in Western media. They fear that any kind of engagement will further legitimize the Nigerien military’s actions.
So far, Paris has refused to engage with the military government, but Washington hasn’t, with acting Deputy US Secretary of State Victoria Nuland traveling to Niamey earlier this month to meet with government representatives.
“Perhaps in order to avoid bloodshed, the US was quickly keen to talk to the putschists,” an unnamed French official told US media. “Maybe the better reaction should’ve been to put some conditions or guarantees before opening those channels.”
“We all have the same aim of restoring constitutional order, but with just a couple nuances expressed [between countries],” the diplomat added.
17 August 2023, 03:10 GMT
Nuland’s visit accomplished little, but the Americans reportedly believe the Nigerien military can still be convinced to yield power. However, Washington has still partially evacuated its Niamey embassy and severed aid to the Sahelian nation, which is among the world’s poorest.
“Our focus is on securing the release of President Bazoum and his family, and on a diplomatic path forward under the Nigerien constitution to preserve constitutional order,” Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement.
After the military seized power on July 26 and placed the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, under house arrest, the new government asked
French forces to leave the country - they refused. As talk grew of a military intervention, either by the US, France, or the West African bloc ECOWAS, the governments of Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea
issued a joint statement declaring an attack on Niger was an attack on all four countries.
That hasn’t stopped ECOWAS from pushing ahead with intervention plans, summoning its member nations’ standby forces and
holding preparatory talks in Ghana on Thursday. Cote D’Ivoire, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Nigeria have all shown support for the initiative.
24 August 2022, 19:59 GMT
Over the last three years, the other three nations - all former French colonies like Niger - have seen coups, uprisings, and revolutions that have deposed unpopular pro-French governments. With the exception of Guinea, the Sahelian countries have seen years of war as French forces waged a
War-on-Terror-style military campaign against Islamist rebels, many of whom have capitalized on the chaos in nearby Libya created by the NATO war that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The highly unpopular wars, which have succeeded more at killing innocent civilians than they have at quashing the rebels, have been
increasingly opposed by local residents, and the new governments have severed their cooperation with French operations after coming to power.
Moscow has voiced its support for the Nigerien military government and vocally opposed an intervention to restore Bazoum to power. A poll earlier this month that mostly sampled residents of the country’s capital and largest city, Niamey, found extremely wide support for the coup: 78% support the military’s actions and 73% believe it should stay in power for an extended period, or until new elections can be held.
Niger was a French colony until winning its independence in 1960. Despite the formal separation, France has
retained a powerful hold on Nigerien politics and economics, with French companies owning all or part of the three largest uranium mines in Niger, which together supply fuel to nuclear power plants that keep one-third of the lights on in France.
Meanwhile, 90% of the Nigerien population has zero access to electricity, and Niger gets to keep just 13% of the value of the uranium mined there.
14 August 2023, 18:23 GMT
This isn’t the first time Washington has
stepped on Paris’ toes in recent years. Last year, the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by the US Congress
provoked outcry from the government of French President Emmanuel Macron, saying it would undermine Europe’s attempts at a
clean energy transition by sapping investment away from the continent.
In 2021, the US and UK infuriated France by convincing Australia to sever a massive deal to buy French-made submarines in favor of a plan to supply Canberra with
nuclear-powered submarines made by the US and later by the UK. The deal underpinned the formation of the AUKUS bloc, a thinly-veiled anti-China effort. Paris called the
reversal a “betrayal” and afterward expressed renewed interest in a European Union military force that wouldn’t be dependent on the United States.
