The Burkinabe government wrote to the French foreign ministry in December requesting that France’s ambassador leave Burkina Faso, a request the office described as “not regular practice.”
On rumors that it made this request to Paris last month, the Burkinabe administration has refrained from making an official statement.
The French ministry’s spokeswoman acknowledged receiving such a letter in an email response, but she refrained from providing any additional information or disclosing how the ministry had reacted.
“The Burkinabe transitional authorities have certainly sent us a letter. Since this is not a typical procedure, we cannot publicly remark on it “She spoke.
It was not possible to determine the whereabouts or condition of French Ambassador Luc Hallade right away. The Ouagadougou embassy declined to respond.
The alleged deportation signifies a worsening of ties between France and Burkina Faso, a former French colony in West Africa where France still maintains close links and has special forces stationed.
There has been an increase in anti-French military demonstrations this year, in part due to accusations that France has not done enough to combat an Islamist insurgency that has recently moved from neighboring Mali.
Mali’s political unrest in August 2020, Burkina Faso’s military coups in January 2022 and September 2022, and Mali’s military coup in May 2021 were all caused by the protracted insecurity.
On the day of the second coup and on November 18, enraged mobs attacked the French embassy, cultural center, and military station in Burkina Faso. Demonstrators urged the temporary military authorities to approach Russia for assistance in battling the militants, as they had done in Mali, and demanded that France leave.
Senior UN official Barbara Manzi was forced to leave the country by Burkinabe authorities in late December after they accused her of casting a dismal picture of the security situation.
