Huge protests in Niger call for French forces to leave after coup

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside a French military base in Niger’s capital Niamey on Saturday demanding that its troops leave in the wake of a military coup that has widespread popular support but which Paris refuses to recognise.
The July 26 coup – one of eight in West and Central Africa since 2020 – has sucked in global powers concerned about a shift to military rule across the region.
Most impacted is France, whose influence over its former colonies has waned in West Africa in recent years just as popular vitriol has grown. Its forces have been kicked out of neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso since coups in those countries, reducing its role in a region-wide fight against deadly Islamist insurgencies.
Anti-French sentiment has risen in Niger since the coup but soured further last week when France ignored the junta’s order for its ambassador, Sylvain Itte, to leave. Police have been instructed to expel him, the junta said.