Nigeriens Protest in Niamey Over Alleged French Efforts to Destabilise Niger

Thousands of Nigeriens gathered in Niamey, the capital of Niger, to show their solidarity with the ruling National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) and to condemn what they claimed were efforts by foreigners to destabilise the country.

The rally comes after months of escalated tensions between Niger and former colonial power France, with recent revelations of  France’s attempt to destabilise the country. The protesters waved flags and chanted slogans to support Burkina Faso and Mali, fellow Alliance of Sahel States members.

Losing Niger is a great catastrophe for France…They were not going to stand still, and look are us leave. They will do everything to come back but our chance is that we’re much more aware, than our grandparents. Today, Africans master the tool of information so they cannot manipulate us anymore, Abdourahamane, a civil society leader pointed during the rally.

1. Among those seen at the rally were leaders of the CNSP, such as Colonel Ibro Amadou Bacharou, Chief of Staff to General Abdourahamane Tiani, and representatives of student and pupil unions.

Recall West Africa Weekly reported that Radio Télévision du Niger revealed that the General Directorate of External Security, France’s intelligence agency, might have taken part in efforts to undermine CNSP. Internal DGSE codes leaked state that French operations target Niger’s military-led government.

The disclosures, partially confirmed by Jeune Afrique, have triggered what one French security official described as “panic” within the DGSE, an internal probe to determine how sensitive information reached the Nigerien authorities.

In a related development, Niger’s military government announced the temporary stripping of citizenship of seven former officials and close allies of the now-ousted administration of President Mohamed Bazoum. These include ousted Foreign Affairs Minister Hassoumi Massoudou and former Trade Minister Alkache Alhada, accused of “terrorist attacks” and collusion with foreign powers.

General Tiani, who overthrew the government in a coup in July 2023, issued his decree signed this week authorising the move against acts of “support for terrorism,” “intelligence with a foreign power,” and “treason against the security of the State.”

The Saturday protest and government moves illustrate rising anti-French sentiment in Niger, driven by the pullout of troops from France and the United States and the perception of interference in Niger’s sovereignty.

With its new alliances in place with Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger looks to be charting a new path-one in which the nation seems to shun foreign influence and clings to a vision of African-led unity and resistance.

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Oluwasegun Sanusi

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