Coups, anti-French sentiment, and hidden cold war: Niger's coup reshapes geopolitics

It has become common to see hundreds of protesters in African countries against foreign presence in all its military, economic, political and cultural aspects.

Hundreds of protesters have been camped outside a French military base in Niger's capital, Niamey, since September 2 to demand the departure of the troops, in the latest sign of rising anti-French sentiment among supporters of the military coup that was carried out in July.

The army overthrew the elected and French-backed president, Mohamed Bazoum, in a coup that drew widespread condemnation abroad but many cheers at home.

France showed suspicious intransigence against the West African country's request from the former colonizer to withdraw its troops, which numbered between 1,200 and 1,500 soldiers. France justified that it only recognizes the authority of the president who was arrested by the coup officers.

However, Reuters quoted Le Monde as saying that France had begun talks with some Nigerien army officials other than the coup leaders about withdrawing some troops. The newspaper did not specify the number and timing of the departure of the French soldiers.

Since the coup, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had announced its rejection of the officers’ seizure of power and threatened military intervention by its forces to return Bazoum to power, which provoked internal protests and the desire of many citizens to volunteer in defense of their country’s sovereignty.

On the other hand, several member states of the sub-regional organization, including Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, warned that calls by ECOWAS and France to intervene in Niger’s internal affairs amounted to a declaration of war.

New edition of anti-colonial rhetoric?

Niger is the latest country in the Sahel region in which an army coup, after Mali in 2020 and 2021 and Burkina Faso (twice) in 2022, is accompanied by intense feelings against the former colonizer, France, according to Ali Al-Haj, a journalist and expert in West Africa and the Sahel region.

“Yes, the crowds no longer use the same old anti-imperialist rhetoric, but the political feeling remains the same. Leave us alone in our country,” Al-Haj told Jusoor Post.

“Many elements constitute this new rhetoric, extending from extreme poverty and increased awareness of the ways neo-colonialism works to plunder the resources of the former French colonies. But what is new is the ability of the new generations of officers of the African continent’s armies to exploit the swelling sentiments of new populism in morally framing and legitimizing their seizure of power” he added.

“Perhaps it is the frightening aspect of the story. The state of confusion created by these sentiments in obstructing the path of these countries in producing a democratic transition and the success of economic development projects. As if these peoples were stuck between a choice of liberal democracy with Western support or a corrupt military rule wrapped in anti-Western populism,” Al-Haj said.

Neo-cold war

The new situation created a state of international polarization, resembling a new cold war. Other international powers, such as Russia, Turkey, and China, want to exploit the situation.

The forces of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group have offered their support to the Nigerien army officers, just as they supported the coup leaders in Mali and Burkina Faso before.