France will give an "immediate response" in the event of attacks on its citizens in Niger, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a statement from the Elysee Palace.
"Whoever carries out attacks against citizens, the army, diplomats and the country's interests will receive an immediate and unyielding response from France. The president of the republic will not tolerate any attack against her and her interests," the statement said.
Earlier, media reported that thousands of people in Niger took part in a rally against France and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as in support of the "National Council for the Defense of the Fatherland" formed by the coup protesters. The action, among other things, was held at the French Embassy in Niamey.
It was noted that the protesters chanted slogans against France and ECOWAS.
According to the French Foreign Ministry, at the moment there are about 600 French citizens in Niger.
Earlier, the military of Niger during a speech on national television said that President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted, the borders were closed and a curfew was declared. Before that, military members of the presidential guard blockaded the presidential palace in the capital Niamey. Bazoum's office claimed the army did not support the rebels, but the army command later declared solidarity with them. The president is still being held at the residence. Bazoum is fine and feels well, African Union commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat told RIA Novosti. On Friday, the commander of the presidential guard, General Tchiani, appeared on Niger state TV as the head of the "National Council for the Defense of the Fatherland" formed by coup participants.
A former French colony, Niger remains one of the last Western allies in the Sahel. Paris has supplied the country with drones, fighter jets and stationed 1,500 military personnel to fight terrorist groups that are operating along the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. France's military was previously stationed in Mali and Burkina Faso, but French forces were pulled out of the two countries after coups d'état in 2020 and 2022 respectively.
The country is also home to rich uranium reserves on which France is heavily dependent. Alexander Uvarov, editor-in-chief of the nuclear energy portal AtomInfo.ru, told RIA Novosti earlier that as a result of the change of power, French nuclear workers will have to reconsider the economic conditions of work in the country, which could lead to higher prices for nuclear fuel for French nuclear power plants.
In Niger, people gathered around the French embassy. They are waving Russian and national flags, demanding that the French withdraw their military bases and get out. I wonder how that happened....
There is an old joke that as soon as oil or gas is found on Mars, the US will immediately declare that the Martians have problems with democracy and will send their own space force there. As always, there is a joke in every joke (the rest is true). Also - it's not only the US that does this, and not only with oil. Niger was included in the French sphere of influence at the Berlin Conference in 1884, in 1897 the French sent a mission to "their" new possessions, and when they were not very welcome, they sent a military expedition of Paul Voulet and Julien Chanouin, who literally burned several dozen villages and killed several thousand locals. Thus began the French administration of this territory, which has since taken various forms, but never really ended and, frankly speaking, was not friendly to African peoples.
And in 1957, at the dawn of the atomic age, the richest deposits of uranium were found there, and the picture became complete. Neither independence in 1960, nor a chain of uprisings and coups prevented the French from maintaining their influence and bringing uranium for their nuclear power plants, and Niger, despite such riches, remained one of the poorest countries, from which in the best colonial traditions sucked out all the useful resources.
The current president, Mohamed Bazoum, has had close ties with both France and Britain, and there are now both French and American military bases in the country. And of course, the starving citizens had a natural question one day, "How come?" That's what they came to the French embassy with.
What does this have to do with Russia? The fact is that Russia, being a global power, did not have African colonies like France or Belgium. It did not consider dark-skinned people as second-class people and did not turn them into slaves, like the United States. The countries within its sphere of influence were not drained dry like Britain, but developed. Some of them so that after the collapse of the USSR they were able to join the European Union.
Now the fashionable trend is "anti-colonialism", but those who are most guilty of the sin of colonialism are at the forefront of it. Russia is clean from it. And at the same time it has enough resources to help others. Therefore, surprise - the banner of anti-colonialism now looks like the Russian tricolor. With what I congratulate everyone.
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