Guess what? French President Emmanuel Macron just made an important announcement! He said that France will be bringing back its troops from Niger by the end of 2023. Wow, that’s big news!
Okay, so let’s talk about why France had troops in Niger in the first place. The French soldiers were there to fight against terrorism in the Sahel region. They were helping Niger in their battle against these bad guys.
Now, here’s the interesting part. President Macron said that France is going to withdraw its troops because the authorities in Niger don’t want to fight against terrorism anymore. That’s a big change! But don’t worry, France will make sure the withdrawal happens peacefully by talking to the military junta.
President Macron wants to make it clear that France will still support Africa in the fight against terrorism. However, they will only do it if the democratically-elected leaders and regional authorities ask for their help. That’s an important condition!
Guess what? The French ambassador to Niger is going back to France soon. The military junta in Niger wanted the ambassador to leave after the coup, but France said no. Now, things are changing, and the ambassador will be heading home.
After the coup in Niger, things got a little tense between Niger and France. France stopped giving visas to people in Niger, and they even brought their citizens back home. On the other side, Niger closed its airspace for planes registered in France. It’s not a good situation, but hopefully, things will get better soon.
