French officials are frustrated that their American counterparts have been willing to engage with the junta that overthrew Niger’s president.
The two countries are at odds over how to respond to the ouster of the West African country’s president in July. France is refusing to diplomatically engage with the junta and strongly supports a regional body that has threatened military intervention. The U.S. hasand held back from officially declaring the takeover a coup — insisting there’s still a negotiated way to restore democracy.
The situation suggests a shifting balance of power in the region and underscores the differences between Paris and Washington’s interests in the country. The U.S., which uses Niger as a base for counterterrorism operations, may also believe it has more leverage than France, not least due to Paris’ baggage as its former colonizer.
In West Africa, France is accustomed to seeing other world powers follow its lead, or at least its guidance. That’s not happening in this case. Ali El Husseini, an American with connections to the junta, said Niger’s new military rulers do not trust the French, not least because French officials are acting like they “don’t exist.”as well as what they see as corruption in Niger
The State Department confirmed this week that the new U.S. ambassador to Niger, Kathleen FitzGibbon, will work from Niamey, Niger’s capital, even though the U.S. has reduced its diplomatic presence there for security reasons. “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,” NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
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