Ambassador Sylvain Itte with ousted Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum
The military junta in Niger on August 31, 2023 activated the second leg of its demand for the French ambassador to Niger to leave the country.
Sylvain Itte has stripped of his diplomatic immunity according to a statement and police have subsequently been ordered to eject him from the country.
The junta, late last week, declared Itte a persona non grata and gave him 48 hours to leave the West African nation.
France refused the designation and said the junta had no authority to remove their ambassador, a move that president Emmanuel Macron buttressed earlier this week in a address to diplomats in Paris.
Macron underlined the fact that the ambassador was not going to be recalled or asked to quit Niger because the junta were not a legitimate political authority.
“Our policy is the right one. It depends on the courage of President Mohamed Bazoum, the commitment of our diplomats, of our ambassador on the ground who is remaining despite pressure,” Macron told a gathering of French ambassadors in Paris.
“One shouldn’t give in to the narrative used by the coup leaders that consists of saying France has become our enemy,” Macron said Monday.
Meanwhile, reports last week that water and electricity supply to the French embassy in Niamey has been dismissed as untrue.
Reports indicate that Nigerien soldiers continue to maintain their positions outside the embassy and staff are allowed in and out of the premises as usual.
???? Police services are instructed to proceed with the expulsion of Sylvain ITTE from Niger. An important device of police officers and gendarmes is now deployed in front of the French Embassy and the residence in Niger. pic.twitter.com/Aky4GsjFrz
— Zagazola (@ZagazOlaMakama) August 31, 2023
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