MADRID, August 11. /TASS/. The events around the military coup in Niger have become a terrible tragedy and humiliation for French President Emmanuel Macron as he was forced to let the US take the lead in this situation, political scientist Bertrand Badie, Emeritus Professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, said.
The expert said that Macron’s biggest mistake was harshly condemning the coup. "He soon realized that it was more complex than he thought," Badie noted in an interview with Spain’s La Vanguardia newspaper. "Macron realized that he had hit a dead end. Due to this, he had two options - to retreat, which would humiliate him in the eyes of the entire world, or to huddle in the corner and wait, which is what he did," the expert explained.
The political scientist thinks that the Niger issue is a "terrible tragedy" for the French president because he is losing his best supporter in Africa and in this situation is forced to cede leadership to the US "which is a great indignity in the African context and shows his miscalculation." Badie noted that France "cannot shed its entire colonial history." "France’s great tragedy is that it does not know how to turn the page, its inability to redefine itself," he concluded.
"If I had to summarize, I would say that since the moment African countries became independent, France has been conducting schoolteacher’s diplomacy based on the temptation to teach lessons and hand out punishment," he noted. In the expert’s opinion, France most likely has not understood that African societies have since changed.
Badie sees a "Ukrainian echo" in the Niger crisis because "the US’ obsession as well as that of France, the EU and ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States) itself" involved "the containment of Russia’s influence in Africa." "From a certain point of view, the events in Niger are the triumph of the Global South," the political scientist added. He thinks that, as opposed to France, the US’ goal "is not to eliminate the coup but to make its consequences more favorable for the US than for Russia."
In late July, a group of military rebels in Niger announced the removal of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum. They then established the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), headed by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, to run the country. Bazoum remains detained at his residence but is reportedly in telephone contact with the outside world.
The ECOWAS leaders had previously demanded that the rebels release Bazoum by August 7, threatening to use force among other options. Nevertheless, the neighboring countries of Mali and Burkina Faso warned that they would consider such a step as an attack on themselves. Since the ECOWAS ultimatum was ignored, the community’s leaders reconvened on August 10.
The organization said it was resolved to restore constitutional order in Niger. Upon returning from the summit, President of the Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara said that the ECOWAS leaders agreed on launching a military operation in Niger as soon as possible.