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2023-09-28 Africa North
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France's former envoy to Niger returns to Paris after weeks of tension
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 [AFRICANEWS] French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna met Sylvain Itté on Wednesday (Sep. 27) "to thank him and his teams for his work in the service of our country under difficult conditions," the ministry said in a written statement to AFP.
The return of the ambassador comes two months after a coup in Niger ousted its president Mohamed Bazoum and prompted a souring in relations between France and its former colony, with Niger's new rulers demanding his departure.
Itté left Niamey with six colleagues "around 4:00 am" (0300 GMT), a diplomatic source had earlier told AFP.
On Sunday (Sep. 24), French President Emmanuel Macron had announced in a TV interview that the ambassador would leave "in the coming hours".
Niger's military leaders -- who overthrew the democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 -- welcomed the announcement.
Born in the Malian capital Bamako in 1959, Itte had been in the post as ambassador to Niger for a year.
His diplomatic career spans 35 years and he was previously ambassador to Uruguay and Angola.
The Junta had told Itte to leave the country after they overthrew Bazoum and took away the envoy's diplomatic immunity and visa.
But a 48-hour ultimatum for him to go, issued in August, passed with him still in place, as the French government refused to comply or to recognise the military regime as legitimate.
Paris had said that only Bazoum's deposed government could order the envoy out.
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Posted by Fred 2023-09-28 00:00||
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