The residents of Niger Republic in Niamey have reacted to the French Withdrawal Announcement made earlier this week.
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has said on Sunday that its 1,500 troops would be withdrawn from Niger by the end of the year.
Residents of Niamey, who had protested over their presence, had reacted to the news of the withdrawal as the French’s influence continues to wane in the Sahel region.
A resident Marzouk Doulla said, “The French military must leave immediately because we really don’t need them.
“They’ve been saying they’d help us for decades, but we haven’t seen any change, so we don’t want their help.”
The military junta, which ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in July, had demanded that President Macron withdraw its troops from the West African country.
Bazoum was overthrown in a coup on July 26 and was held at the presidential palace along with his family in a coup that was denounced by France and the majority of Niger’s neighbours until their release.
The presence of the troops in Niger has been part of France’s effort to maintain its influence through counter-insurgency operations in the region.
Another Niamey resident said he was “very, very happy” that the French were departing, saying “we will have nothing to do with them again.”
President Macron said the French Ambassador to Niger, Sylvain Itte, would also return to France, after claiming the envoy was being held hostage in its embassy at Niamey.
The ambassador had defied the request of the junta to leave after he had refused to meet with the country’s new leaders and had done so because doing so was “contrary to the interests of Niger”, according to the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Macron made a U-turn on his August statement that the French ambassador would remain there despite efforts from the coup leaders to do otherwise.
Citizens in their thousands had taken to the front of the military base in Niamey to demand the evacuation of the French troops after the military rulers seized power in July.
Niger Republic has since then been suspended by the African Union, Central African and other blocs following the coup.
The military rulers also barred French aircraft from entering its airspace, intensifying tensions in an already strained diplomatic relationship.
Niger’s airspace, which recently reopened for commercial flights, has now excluded French aircraft, including those operated by Air France, from its skies, according to a statement from the Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA).