PARIS, France
France’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that a French official has been arrested in military-run Niger, and called for the junta to immediately release him.
"France is following with
the utmost attention the situation of Stephane Jullien, advisor to the French
abroad based in Niger, arrested on September 8 by Nigerien security
forces," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "We call for his
immediate release.”
It said its embassy has been
fully mobilized to ensure the “consular protection of our compatriot” since the
first day of the coup.
Military officers in Niger
deposed former President, Mohamed Bazoum in July and last month ordered French officials to leave the country — an
order that France has refused to heed, saying that Niger’s junta is not the
country’s legitimate authority.
The ministry said on X, the
platform formerly known as Twitter, that Stephane Jullien, counsellor for
French citizens abroad — a non-diplomatic, elected post — was arrested last
Friday, and called for his “immediate release.”
French President Emmanuel
Macron has said that France’s ambassador would stay at his post in Niger
despite being asked to leave. Addressing ambassadors in August, Macron
dismissed concerns that standing up to the junta could be dangerous.
The arrest of a French official was sure
to further raise already high tensions between France and Niger, its former
colony.
The
Foreign Ministry did not elaborate on where and how Jullien was arrested or
whether officials in Paris knew where he was being held. It said only that
France was following the situation closely and was “fully mobilized” to assure
him the protections due to anyone in another country.
France “calls immediately for
his release,” the statement said.
French Ambassador Sylvain Itte
was asked to leave Niger within 48 hours in a letter on Aug. 25 from the
Nigerien Foreign Ministry that accused him of ignoring an invitation for a
meeting with the ministry. The letter also cited “actions of the French government
contrary to the interests of Niger.”
France has consistently
acknowledged only the authority of Bazoum. He is still detained by the junta,
which is now under sanctions by Western and regional African powers.
Nearly 1,500 French troops are based in Niger to help local forces fight Islamic extremists.
However, the
military cooperation has been suspended since the coup, whose leaders claimed
that Bazoum’s government wasn’t doing enough to protect the country from the
insurgency.
“One shouldn’t give in to the
narrative used by the coup leaders that consists of saying France has become
our enemy,” Macron said at the late August annual Paris gathering of the
nation’s ambassadors.
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