French ambassador is being 'held hostage at the French embassy' in Niger, says Macron
French ambassador is being 'held hostage at the French embassy' in Niger, says Macron
The French ambassador to Niger and other French diplomats are “literally being held hostage at the French embassy,” according to French president Emmanuel Macron.
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Countries have the right to expel foreign diplomats and embassies as long as they don't arrest them or go through their stuff when they leave. The newly couped Niger junta requested the French ambassador leave and revoked his visa, but the French are still refusing to leave, claiming that because they don't recognize the legitimacy of the new junta, they don't have to follow the junta's orders to leave. Regardless of your opinion of the new junta, in how does a former colonial power be in the right when they are blatantly ignoring the legal rights and sovereignty of their independent former colony's government that is doing things by the book? They stopped sending the ambassador food and are confining him to his embassy until he leaves, especially given the current junta that is extremely gentle treatment
The problem with your picture is that you're calling the junta a sovereign and independent government doing things by the book. They're army personel that took power from the elected government at gunpoint.
It might be so that France will have to accept the new dictatorship one day, but historically more than one such coup has failed days or weeks after. If France were to accept the dictatorship from day one that would be seen as throwing in the towel and dooming any chance of the democratic government regaining power...
My understanding is that the majority of the population supports the coup even when the poll is done by biased media opposed to the coup like the Economist or Forbes. If the majority of people supported overthrowing the government then it doesn't seem like an actual democracy. At least, its not something imposed on the people against their will.
I guess its a matter of perspective where if you care about the will of the people or if you care about power being transfered via elections even if the elections aren't for anyone who represents the people. I definatley don't like the second option but some people do feel that way I suppose.
Can't find such poll on Forbes or the Economist, could you give it a link?
Sure :)
Here is an image of the poll https://hexbear.net/pictrs/image/b4bd0c20-8521-465f-955e-522fd5a3abfc.png
Here is the actual article, but you'd have to pay the Economist to see the whole thing. https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/08/07/after-nigers-coup-the-drums-of-war-are-growing-louder
Upon actually finding the specific poll I was talking about, it is actually that the vast majority of people in Niger feel the coup should remain in power, which is technically not the same thing as saying they wanted it to happen. However you can look around and find that support for the coup is very high. Niger's government was not popular. Only 21% of people polled by this very hostile to the coup source wanted the old president to be restored to power.
These findings are not necessarily representative of opinion across the country because the poll was conducted quickly, with a small sample, made up mainly of men in the capital.
As stated in the actual The Economist article. So I won't say like you do that "a vast majority of people in Niger" support the coup.
Even so, it provides an indication of the mood.
I do agree with that. It is unfortunate that such an anti-occident sentiment grew there, but it is understandable considering France (and many European countries) colonial past.
Still to call for the Russian, considering all the war crimes they are accused of (and the massive number of proofs already gathered), is kinda worrying for their safety.
Major thing is that Wagner/Russia is prepared to take the gloves off in fighting islamists. Slaughtering villages or regions that support islamist groups is something western powers are very afraid off, while the locals prefer it and Russia dgaf.
The poll these publications refer to isn't done by themselves. Whoever told you this is lying.
And it's apparently based on a few hundred respondents from the capital.
Not saying there's better sources available but it seems you've been largely misled on this
It really seems like a distinction without a difference since its on their site. The capital is going to be where the supporters of the old regime are. Its a biased poll designed to get a result in favor of the old government and it failed.
I don't remember who elected France as the ruler who define and protect democracy in the world. Not accepting the new government and applying sanctions is OK, refusing to leave the country no.
And this is worse than if you remember how usually countries remove their embassadors from conflict zones, Macron is just provoking to make an excuse to an UN intervention or wide applied sanctions after their allied government was deposed.
Do you believe Macron thinks he's going to convince Putin to approve UN intervention in Niger?
No, i believe Macron just want peace and democracy (and just for Niger and none of the other allied dictatorships)
I don't think he cares about that, more so his economic interests
Damn. I think they should still give food, but yeah he should gtfo.
