Niger was the hub of France's Sahel posture after the 2022 withdrawal from Mali. The military authorities that took power in July 2023 denounced the defence agreements within a month; France withdrew about 1,500 troops by 22 December 2023 and closed its embassy in January 2024.
Un arrangement symétrique : il se lit de la même façon des deux côtés. Rédigé une seule fois, sur une seule fiche.
L’arrangement
- Statut
- EndedEnded, on the date the record states. A historical relationship, not a weakened one.Last material change: 2023-12-22.
- Ce qu’il couvre
- DéfenseLutte antiterroristeStationnementFormationCatégories que l’arrangement est documenté comme incluant. Ce n’est pas une mesure : une relation qui en couvre davantage est décrite plus en détail, non tenue plus fermement.
Synthèse
Defence cooperation between France and Niger dates from the 1961 agreements that followed independence and was renewed in a 2013 arrangement under which Niamey's Base 101 hosted French aircraft and, after the 2022 departure from Mali, the largest French contingent in the region. The Conseil national pour la sauvegarde de la patrie denounced the military agreements on 3 August 2023, a week after the coup; France initially refused to recognise the authorities, then announced on 24 September that its ambassador and forces would leave. The withdrawal completed on 22 December 2023, the embassy closed in January 2024, and Russian trainers arrived at Base 101 in May 2024, while American forces were still there. No French military presence has returned and the base now hosts the Russian contingent and the AES joint command.
Pourquoi c’est important
This termination is the pivot of the module's external-actor story in Niger: the air cover and intelligence the western garrisons relied on left with it, the Russian presence arrived into the space it vacated, and the state's war in Tillabéri has been fought since without either. It is also the second of three French exits — Mali in 2022, Niger in 2023, Burkina Faso in between — that made the AES possible.
Accords
- Defence cooperation agreements between France and Niger · signé en 1961 · ended 2023-08-03
The 1961 agreements and their successors, denounced by the CNSP on 3 August 2023; texts not read, terms not authored.
Événements associés
- La garde présidentielle du Niger renverse le président Bazoum Juil. 2023
Politique · Changement de dirigeant
- Les États-Unis se retirent du Niger Mai – sept. 2024
Militaire · Diplomatique
Organisations
Structures par lesquelles cette relation s’exerce. Elles n’y sont pas parties — les parties sont les deux acteurs ci-dessus.
Lieux
Repères que ce module publie déjà. Cette fiche n’ajoute aucune précision géographique qui lui soit propre.
Ce qui reste inconnu
- The residual channels between the two governments since January 2024 are not described by either; the record states that the security relationship ended and does not characterise what replaced it.
Questions Watch que cette relation concerne
Questions analytiques permanentes dont les éléments passent par cette relation, chacune avec sa dernière revue. Dérivées de l’objet Watch, jamais reformulées ici.
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Évalué au — 2024-01 Dernière revue — 2026-09-14