RT.com
16 Sep 2023, 04:50 GMT+10
President Macron lamented that the envoy in Niamey has been reduced to military rations
French President Emmanuel Macron complained on Friday that France's envoy in Niger is under siege by the military government in Niamey, two weeks after Ambassador Sylvain Itte's accreditation was revoked.
"As we speak, we have an ambassador and diplomatic staff who are literally being held hostage in the French embassy," Macron told reporters while visiting Semur-en-Auxois in Burgundy.
"They are preventing food deliveries," he said, apparently referring to the Nigerien police. "He is eating military rations."
The ambassador "cannot go out, he is persona non grata and he is being refused food," the president added. Asked whether he would consider bringing Itte home, Macron said he would do "whatever we agree with President Bazoum, because he is the legitimate authority and I speak with him every day."
Mohamed Bazoum was ousted by a group of Nigerien generals on July 26. The military government expelled Itte at the end of August, but the ambassador refused to leave, arguing that only Bazoum's government was legitimate. Thousands of Nigeriens have since protested outside the French embassy against the former colonial power, demanding the departure of both the envoy and some 1,500 troops Paris still has in the country.
Macron has responded by declaring that the military government has no legitimacy and that their expulsion of Itte was a "provocation." The EU has backed Paris, noting that Brussels does not recognize the current government in Niamey as legitimate.
Several of Niger's neighbors from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have threatened to send troops to restore Bazoum, but have yet to act to that effect. Meanwhile, Mali and Burkina Faso have said that any attack on Niger would be a declaration of war against them as well, and have signed a treaty with Niamey to send military help in that eventuality.
Get a daily dose of Sierra Leone Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sierra Leone Times.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rose Wednesday despite the U.S. Federal Reserve signalling a potential slowdown in the U.S. economy,...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump has reversed a Biden-era executive order requiring businesses with federal contracts to pay...
FRANKFURT, Germany: UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti will receive a pay package of just over 15 million Swiss francs (US$17 million) for 2024,...
PARIS, France: French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou acknowledged over the weekend that the European Union may have miscalculated by...
NEW YORK, New York - Sellers took charge again on Wall Street Tuesday as the brief rebound that took place on Monday petered out. Stocks...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration has approved a plan to expand a coal mine in Montana and keep it running for 16 more years,...
A report from Moscows newly opened pavillion honoring Russian soldiers and commemorating the Ukraine conflict The Museum of the Special...
ABU DHABI, 19th March, 2025 (WAM) -- Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Samir Obeid, Minister...
New Delhi [India], March 19 (ANI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict,...
The window for peace in Ukraine is open but for how long? Tuesday's talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President...
Qatar has hosted talks between the leaders of the two African states, who are at odds over a brutal rebel conflict Congolese President...
New Delhi [India] March 19 (ANI): Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) player AB de Villiers emphasized the challenges of winning...