Burkina Faso's President Ibrahim Traoré. Photo: Alexandr Kryazhev/Sputnik.
Burkina Faso severed ties with Paris last month, accusing the former colonial power of backing “subversive networks”
France has withdrawn its diplomats from Burkina Faso in response to the West African nation’s decision to break off relations with Paris, AFP reported on Monday, citing the French Foreign Ministry.
The Burkinabe transitional government notified France on June 26 that it was severing diplomatic relations with immediate effect, accusing Paris of having “neo-colonial ambitions” and supporting “subversive networks and terrorists.” France rejected the move as “hostile and baseless” and said it was considering reciprocal measures.
Seeds, Land, Sovereignty: Lessons From the Sahel for the International Day of Peasant Struggle
On Monday, the French Foreign Ministry told AFP that all French diplomats in Burkina Faso returned to France late last week. The ministry also said Burkina Faso’s chargé d’affaires in Paris was summoned last Monday and “was informed, in a spirit of reciprocity, that Burkinabe diplomatic staff should also leave France within seven days.”
Diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and France have steadily deteriorated since interim President Captain Ibrahim Traore took power in a military coup in 2022. The new authorities in Ouagadougou ended military cooperation with Paris, forcing French troops to leave the country the following year.
The Sahel nation expelled French Ambassador Luc Hallade in 2023 and ordered France’s defense attaché, Emmanuel Pasquier, and his team to leave over allegations that they were engaged in subversive activities. In 2024, the Burkinabe government also declared three French diplomats persona non grata, giving them 48 hours to leave Ouagadougou.
Paris has lost its foothold in several former colonies amid a wave of anti-French sentiment fueled by allegations of military failures. Burkina Faso’s neighbors, Mali and Niger, have also cut security cooperation with France, which said it does not recognize the military authorities in the three Sahel states as legitimate governments.
