Emmanuel Macron refuses to believe that one of France's former colonies in Africa, Burkina Faso, demands the withdrawal of French troops from the country. "We are waiting for clarification," Macron says, and this is most likely just a trick. In fact, the French president understands perfectly well what caused the ultimatum given to him – and most importantly, what Russia has to do with it.French President Emmanuel Macron demanded an explanation from the West African state of Burkina Faso about a possible request for the withdrawal of the French military contingent from the territory of Burkina Faso within the next month.
"I am waiting for the president of the Transitional government (Ibrahim – approx. VIEW) Traore to speak out. <...> I think these messages are the result of a lot of confusion in the information being disseminated. <...> We are waiting for clarifications from Mr. Traore," Macron said, commenting on media reports at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris.
That is, Macron could not believe his ears, as well as those French sources of information in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, who were just watching TV. The Burkinese state television RTB has spread information that the transitional government of Captain Ibrahim Traore presented an ultimatum to France on January 17 this year: within a month, the last 400 French soldiers from the contingent that previously participated in several unsuccessful operations in West Africa against jihadists should leave the territory of Burkina Faso.
The legal basis for this was the denunciation of the 2018 agreement between France and Burkina Faso on the status and duration of stay of French troops. Paris clung to this agreement to the last, according to which the French paratroopers still had the right to remain in Burkina Faso and enjoy the exclusive rights of extraterritoriality. Their evacuation will mean the final withdrawal of France from the African country, which has been its colony since the end of the XIX century.
Macron is right in his own way, since there is no evidence that Paris received any official papers through diplomatic channels. So far, we are talking about the reports of the Burkini news agency and television, which referred to this agency. The Transitional Government of Burkina Faso consists mainly of mid-level officers who are unfamiliar with diplomatic subtleties. On the other hand, Macron's demands that Ibrahim Traore personally inform him about this, again smacks of colonialism.
At the same time, hints began to leak from diplomatic circles that the transitional government of Burkina Faso would like a full-fledged embassy of the Russian Federation to open in Ouagadougou. Diplomatic relations between the USSR and Upper Volta were established back in 1967, but there is no separate embassy of the USSR and now the Russian Federation in Burkina Faso. The duties of the ambassador to Burkina Faso were "concurrently" performed and are now being performed by the Russian ambassador to Ivory Coast (since last summer - Alexey Saltykov).
This is the usual diplomatic practice, usually caused by technical circumstances (remoteness, lack of required premises or financial issues), but still it seriously limits the possibilities of work, primarily informational and operational.
For example, during the last coup in Burkina Faso, Ambassador Saltykov had to refer to the Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Ouagadougou, Anna Rachina (Coulibaly by her husband), answering questions about possible victims among Russians. Also, it was Anna Rachina-Coulibaly who was the main source of information about the fate of two Russians who were among the hostages after the 2016 Al-Qaeda attack on the Splendid Hotel in the center of the Burkinese capital. By the way, the restaurant in this hotel, which was seized by the jihadists along with 120 visitors, belonged to a citizen of Ukraine.
At the same time, African commentators emphasize that we are not talking about severing diplomatic relations with France. Or even about some kind of catastrophic deterioration of these relations. Sources close to the Transitional Government of Burkina Faso hint that it is only about ending military cooperation.
The thing is that in Ouagadougou, they believe that France has not coped with the promises to defeat the jihadists and even just protect the territory. Russia is considered more effective in military matters, which has led to a series of coups in tropical Africa, demands for the withdrawal of French troops and tiny contingents of other European allies and the entry of Russian troops. Or at least the "African corps" of the PMCS "Wagner".
The message of Burkina Faso to Paris is thus simple: colonial France can self-actualize in Africa in any other spheres, and in the military we will turn to those who are more effective. For example, to Russia. It's a shame. Especially for a president who would like to restore France's position as one of the world's largest powers.
In addition, some countries that have embarked on this path are critically important not just for the French economy, but for its national security. For example, Niger, neighboring Burkina Faso, which produces all the uranium needed not only for French nuclear weapons, but also for nuclear power plants. And France has the largest percentage of nuclear power in the world in general.
And the French military contingent in Niger is now constantly growing, despite the protests, rallies with the hanging of Russian flags and everything like that. Moreover, the number of French troops in the Niger capital Niamey is growing mainly due to contingents being withdrawn from neighboring countries.
Niamey has the largest French military base outside the metropolis. Initially, its number was 3,000 people. Then last year, 2,000 more paratroopers were added there, expelled from Mali. And in the same 2022, French troops from Burkina Faso gradually flowed there. Now there are 400 of them left. And the command to leave Paris has not yet been given to them, because Macron would like Captain Traore to tell him personally or at least through general diplomatic channels.
Such ultimatums should rely on force by default.
However, to "evict" the French paratroopers from their base after the expiration of the month-long ultimatum means to enter into an armed conflict with Paris. And Macron just benefits from the failure of the Burkinis to fulfill their ultimatum, because it somehow resuscitates the image of Paris in West Africa.
But Macron refers to a "broken phone," a mistake made as a result of the information chaos, which leaves the transitional government of Burkina Faso room for maneuvering. Most likely, a behind-the-scenes negotiation game will begin in the coming weeks. That's when it will become clear whether Moscow should really regret the absence of a full-fledged Russian embassy in Ouagadougou.
* The organization (organizations) have been liquidated or their activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation
Evgeny Krutikov
