Speaking in an interview with AFP, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu praised the "strong" actions of regional West African group ECOWAS, which has given the junta until Sunday to restore democratic rule or face the threat of military action.
The coup against Bazoum has infuriated France, which has 1,500 troops deployed in the country and was using Niger as a hub for anti-terror operations in the region, after successive coups the last two years in Mali and then Burkina Faso prompted pullouts from those countries.
Paris has made clear it still regards Bazoum, who is currently held as the presidential residence in Niamey, as Niger's sole legitimate leader.
Lecornu echoed comments by other Western officials and observers that the coup had come at a precarious moment when several terror Islamist terror groups including Boko Haram, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and Al-Qaeda's local branch were regaining strength.
"Not only has President Bazoum been taken hostage but also the population of Niger," Lecornu told AFP in the interview.
"This putsch will weaken the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, where activity by armed terrorist groups is resurging, notably taking advantage of certain failed states like Mali."
"It's an error of judgement that goes totally against the interests of the country," he added.
- 'Catastrophic consequences' -
The French foreign ministry said earlier on Saturday it "firmly" supported the efforts of ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States) to reverse the coup and Lecornu said on the eve of the passing of the deadline that the 15-nation bloc was showing its stature.
"More generally, we see that ECOWAS is shouldering its responsibilities in the management of this crisis in Niger, taking strong positions in favour of respect for international law and respect for democratic processes."
"This is an important milestone that must be welcomed and supported," he said.
Lecornu said there was no indication of involvement in the coup by Russian mercenary group Wagner, which Western governments say is bolstering the regimes in both Burkina Faso and Mali.
But he warned Niger risked going down the same path as its neighbours.
"Wagner is not behind this coup. But it is possible that, opportunistically, Wagner can seek to help this junta as it tries to establish itself."
He warned that calling on Wagner would have "catastrophic consequences" for Niger.
"Look at the Malian situation after the departure of the French forces: ... 40 percent of Malian territory is out of the control of the Malian state. It is a failure. Many ECOWAS actors are aware of this."
- 'Personal dispute' -
As debate rages in France over whether the sudden coup on July 26 led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of Niger's presidential guard, was a major intelligence failure by the French foreign intelligence service, the DGSE, Lecornu said that Paris had been aware that Bazoum's position was "fragile".
But he said what may have surprised was that the coup stemmed above all from a "personal dispute".
People close to Bazoum had told AFP he recently said he wanted to replace Tiani as the head of his guard.
Lecornu, meanwhile, sought to play down the extent of anti-French sentiment in Niger, despite protests outside the French embassy in Niamey which saw signs torn down and windows smashed.
"Some well-known groups carry out information campaigns against us but we must remain calm and look objectively at the facts."
"Three Russian flags waved in front of the French embassy, daubed with a few slogans, should neither intimidate us nor push us to hasty conclusions, as is happening too easily with some people," he said.
Macron suffers new Africa setback with Niger coup
Paris (AFP) Aug 3, 2023 -
The coup in Niger represents a major setback for French President Emmanuel Macron, raising questions about France's military presence in the country but also the future of his wider strategy in Africa, analysts said.
The coup against Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum is the third such putsch in the region in as many years, following similar actions in Mali and Burkina Faso in 2021 and 2022 that forced the pullouts of French troops.
But the Niger coup is particularly bruising for Macron after he sought to make a special ally of Niamey, and a hub for France's presence in the region after the Mali coup.
The situation presents Macron with a string of dilemmas as he retreats to the French presidential Mediterranean residence of Fort Bregancon for a summer holiday that is set to be dominated by the crisis.
In December 2018, Macron vowed that France would remain engaged in the fight against jihadists in the Sahel region of Africa "until the victory is complete", a vow that now appears on shaky ground.
"History repeats itself, the setbacks are accumulating," Pascal Boniface, director of the French Institute of International and Strategic Affairs, told AFP.
"If the putschists stay in power in Niamey, it will be very difficult to leave our soldiers there."
- 'Bet everything' -
France has 1,500 soldiers posted in Niger, and another 1,000 in neighbouring Chad.
The military said this week that evacuating soldiers from Niger -- as was the case with civilians -- was "not on the agenda".
And unlike Mali and Burkina Faso previously, the junta in Niger has not put into question defence agreements with Paris so far.
But "it is a mistake to have bet everything on Niger and Chad" for redeploying French troops after the Burkina and Mali coups, said Francois Gaulme, researcher at the French Institute of International Relations.
He also said the departure of French soldiers from Niger was "inevitable" if the putschist General Abdourahamane Tiani remained in place.
The Le Monde daily described the coup as a "new heavy blow" for France's military strategy in the Sahel region.
"Paris had placed Niamey at the heart of its fight against jihadist groups on a regional scale. With the coup, the entire French strategy could be called into question."
- Actions not words -
Macron -- the first French head of state to be born after former French colonies won independence -- had in 2017 in a famous speech in Ouagadougou vowed a new approach towards the continent.
Since then, he has repeated pleas for a change of method, a partnership of equals, telling magazine Jeune Afrique in 2020 that "between France and Africa, it must be a love story".
But anti-French sentiment in the region has only continued to rise, often whipped up by Russia which over the last years has taken an increasingly prominent presence through the Wagner mercenary group.
Hundreds of people backing the coup protested on Thursday in Niamey's Concertation Square to mark the country's 1960 independence from France, some brandishing giant Russian flags.
Last week thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the French embassy in Niamey, chanting anti-French slogans and waving Russian flags. Paris then ordered the evacuation of its nationals which is still in progress.
Analysts say Macron himself bears some responsibility, even if other factors are also at work.
"He has been criticised since his first five-year term for being arrogant, especially in his relations with certain African heads of state," Gaulme said.
He said the problem above all lies in the gulf between "words and acts" as despite the strong statements "the French system has in fact not changed as it remains focused around military bases and development aid."
- 'Very mobilised' -
Macron "remains very mobilised", an Elysee source said on Tuesday, adding he was talking with regional and European partners "to look at different ways to get out of the crisis".
A French diplomatic source, who asked not to be named, said France was taking several actions to have a less military focus in relations with Africa, notably fighting poverty and global warming while encouraging growth.
"Emmanuel Macron wanted to make an ambitious reset in our relationship with African countries. All of this can only be done over the long term," said the source.
Macron organised in Paris in June a summit on a new global financing pact that is to be at the centre of such efforts.
He notably hosted Bazoum at the Elysee Palace for bilateral talks on the sidelines of that summit.
"We must go beyond the anti-Macron obsession if we want to make a correct analysis of the situation", said the Cameroonian intellectual Achille Mbembe, who teaches history and political science at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
"We are facing a historic backlash which relates to the failure of decolonisation".
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