France Closes Niger Embassy Until Further Notice

The French Embassy in Niger Republic was closed on Tuesday until further notice, French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

 

“For five months, our embassy has been severely hampered, making it impossible to carry out its missions,” a spokeswoman for the French foreign ministry said in a statement obtained by Reuters.

The embassy will continue its activities from Paris, the statement said.

Relations between the two countries had broken down following last year’s military coup in the African country.

The country’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, was ousted in the coup and detained.

France had insisted that Bazoum should be reinstated.

 

The French embassy in Niger was attacked by demonstrators on July 30, 2023.

The military rulers in the country also asked French forces to leave the country and declared France’s ambassador to Niger persona non grata in the West African country.