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France denies inciting failed Niger mutiny, calls accusation ‘pure fantasy’

From Al Jazeera · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • France rejected Niger's accusation that it helped incite a failed mutiny involving attacks on a military base and the presidential palace in Niamey.
  • Niger's military government has also accused unnamed African countries of supporting the plot, while Benin denied the allegation.
  • The unrest killed or led to the arrest of dozens of soldiers, and Niger acknowledged that civilians also died.

France has dismissed as “pure fantasy” Niger’s claim that Paris helped incite a mutiny that saw soldiers storm a military base and the presidential palace in Niamey.

pure fantasy

· Jean-Noel BarrotFrance's foreign minister rejected Niger's accusation that Paris helped incite the mutiny.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told RFI radio on Saturday, a week after the August 29 assault, that “there never was any intention, nor means that France would have mobilised.” His response followed a statement from Niger’s government accusing President Emmanuel Macron’s administration of directing the unrest.

“This operation, with its international ramifications, was instigated and sustained by a vast network of collusion headed by the French regime of Mr [Emmanuel] Macron,” Nigerien government spokesperson Soumana Boubacar said in a statement broadcast on television. He claimed that “traitorous and renegade elements” had been promised major rewards to pursue Macron’s ambitions in Niger.

There never was any intention, nor means that France would have mobilised.

· Jean-Noel BarrotBarrot told RFI that France had neither planned nor enabled involvement in the unrest.

The confrontation adds to the strain between the two countries since General Abdourahamane Tchiani seized power in a 2023 coup and turned to Russia for military support instead of France, Niger’s former colonial power. The mutiny began at Base 101, inside Niamey’s international airport, when soldiers turned against their commanders and opened fire at several locations. Fighting reached the presidential palace and knocked the state broadcaster off air for hours.

This operation, with its international ramifications, was instigated and sustained by a vast network of collusion headed by the French regime of Mr [Emmanuel] Macron.

· Soumana BoubacarNiger's government spokesperson accused France of directing the failed mutiny.

Niger’s army, supported by Russian paramilitary fighters known as Africa Corps, retook the base the following day. State media said hundreds of soldiers were involved, with dozens killed or arrested. Niger later expanded its accusations to include unnamed “African brothers,” after state television aired a video in which an air force captain named Benin, Chad, Ivory Coast and ECOWAS as alleged backers. Benin rejected the claim, saying “no one in their right mind” believed it. Niger’s government also acknowledged for the first time that civilians had died in the violence.

no one in their right mind

· Benin government spokesmanBenin rejected Niger's allegation that it supported the attack.
About this summary

Originally published by Al Jazeera. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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