Airlines serving Niamey, capital of Niger, have decided to no longer take French passengers to this destination, several of whom were recently turned away upon arrival, AFP learned from airport sources on Wednesday. “According to the Nigerien authorities, any passenger of French nationality is no longer authorized to enter Nigerien territory. Consequently, the latter will no longer be accepted on our flights to this destination,” indicates an internal Air Burkina memo consulted by AFP.
In a press release published Wednesday evening, January 31, the Burkinabé company affirms that “this note does not emanate” from it and that it “cannot be held responsible for the possible consequences which could result from it”. The text says nothing about whether French nationals will board or not.
A source close to the company Royal Air Maroc (RAM) indicated that “French passengers bound for Niamey can no longer board” RAM planes, “without special authorization from the Nigerien authorities and have been doing so for almost a year. week ". Contacted by AFP, other companies serving Niamey, Ethiopian Airlines, Asky, Air Tunisie and Turkish Airlines, did not initially respond to the question of whether they continued to take French nationals to Niger.
Also questioned, the Nigerien authorities have not yet confirmed that the French wishing or having to come to Niamey were now persona non grata on their territory. Relations between Niger and France, a former colonial power in the region, have continued to deteriorate since the military coup of July 26, 2023 which overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
“Serious obstacles”
The French embassy in Niger, which Paris announced would close shortly before Christmas, is officially closed "until further notice" and will continue its activities from Paris, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on January 2. The ministry underlined that “for five months, our embassy has suffered serious obstacles making it impossible to carry out its missions: blockade around the embassy, travel restrictions for agents and refoulement of all diplomatic personnel who were due to reach Niger.” .
The closure of an embassy, an extremely rare measure, was decided in parallel with the withdrawal of the last French soldiers deployed in Niger as part of the fight against terrorism, who left the country on December 22, 2023. After the coup d'état of July 26, the military in power quickly demanded the departure of French soldiers – around 1,500 deployed to fight against jihadists – and denounced several military agreements concluded with Paris.
The military regime also pronounced at the end of August the expulsion of the French ambassador, Sylvain Itté. He remained stuck inside the diplomatic representation for almost a month before leaving it by decision of President Emmanuel Macron who ordered that he remain in place after the coup. The French newspaper Le Canard Enchainé cited a veto by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the publication of a book by Mr. Itté which, according to a diplomatic source contacted by AFP, could have “been detrimental to our security interests.” .
Turkey's rise to power in the Sahel
Since France's departure, Niger, like neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, also led by soldiers resulting from coups d'état and confronted with jihadist violence, have moved closer to other partners, including Russia.
In this context, Turkey affirmed on Thursday that it wanted to help Niger "strengthen its independence" after Niamey's announcement of its withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). “President Erdogan expressed Turkey's support for the measures taken by Niger to strengthen its political, military and economic independence,” indicated the Turkish presidency following a tête-à-tête in Ankara between the president Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Nigerien Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine, appointed by the military regime in power in Niamey.
Turkey says it wants to strengthen its trade with Niger, which announced on Tuesday – following Mali and Burkina Faso – that it had notified its withdrawal from ECOWAS, a decision with potentially serious consequences for its economy and political stability. ECOWAS has worked in vain to secure the quickest possible return of civilians to power in Niamey, Bamako and Ouagadougou, where coups have overthrown elected presidents.
According to the Turkish presidency, Mr. Erdogan said that “Turkey opposed foreign military interventions that victimize the people of Niger and would continue to do so.” Ankara, which has extended its presence in the Sahel and wishes to further increase its influence there by taking advantage of France's forced departure, has adopted a conciliatory position with the military who came to power in Niger following a coup d'état. end of July. The situation in Niger is closely scrutinized by Ankara, the Sahelian country being located on the southern border of Libya, where Turkey has many interests.
