African state quits French union

NIGER: Niger has withdrawn from the global French-speaking group the International Organization of Francophone Nations (OIF), amid continuing efforts to sever ties with its former colonial power, France.

The West African country’s foreign ministry announced the decision on Monday.

“The Nigerien government has independently decided to withdraw Niger from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie,” the ministry said in a statement posted on X. While rationale for the decision was provided, the move comes more than a year after the military authorities in Niamey suspended all cooperation with the Paris-based organization, accusing it of being a political tool for defending French interests.

The Permanent Council of the 88-member OIF suspended Niger in December 2023 months after a July coup which ousted former President Mohamed Bazoum, to pressure the country’s new leadership to restore constitutional order. The group had said it would continue cooperation on projects that directly benefit civilian populations and contribute to the restoration of democracy in the former French colony.

The OIF’s proclaimed mission is to promote the French language, support peace and democracy, and foster education and development in Francophone countries worldwide, many of which were French colonies.

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Since taking control of Niamey, the Nigerian military government, known as the National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland, has taken several measures to cut ties with Paris, including expelling French troops who had partnered in fighting an Islamic insurgency in the Sahel.

Just weeks prior to the coup, Niger adopted a new national anthem, ‘The Honor of the Fatherland,’ replacing ‘La Nigerienne,’ written by French composers Maurice Albert Thiriet, Robert Jacquet, and Nicolas Abel Francois Frionnet in 1961, a year after the country’s independence.

Niger’s regional allies, Burkina Faso and Mali, also former French colonies, have all terminated defense cooperation with France over military failures and allegations of meddling. Bamako and Ouagadougou have amended their constitutions to replace French with local dialects as official languages.

The three Sahel nations officially withdrew from ECOWAS in January after claiming the regional organization poses a threat to their sovereignty by serving as a tool for foreign powers, particularly France. The bloc had threatened to send a French-backed military force into Niger to restore democratic order in the aftermath of Bazoum’s ouster.