After seizing power in July, the Niger military ordered 1,500 French forces to leave Niger. A series of coups have occurred throughout countries such as Niger and Mali. These coups are rooted in resentment to France who still control aspects of these countries. Niger is being run by military leaders after the army kicked out the civilian government. There was a sense that the civilian governments weren’t adequate. Although, Niger is a very vulnerable and poor country. Due to uranium, France exploits this aspect of their relationship. Also, Niger is in the region of Sahel which accounted for 43% of terrorism-related deaths globally in 2022. The leaders of the coup, the military of Niger, base their rise to power on these security issues.
Nigerians increasingly grow Anti-france ideals. Historically, France had colonial power over Niger, and France exploited Nigerians predominantly through the slave trade. However, remnants of colonialism are present today through neo-colonialism (a country maintaining unequal relationships with previous colonies for economic gain or political interest). A key example of France’s exploitation of Niger is their mining for Uranium. However, this resentment toward France allowed for a power vacuum to emerge. Now, Niger is seeing increasing support for Russia, since Russia is aiming to pass its ideology on to Niger. The emergence of Nigers ideology aligned with Russia; the rise of such ideology could only lead to further destabilization of the region and the rise of communist ideology amongst the region.
Niger is a sovereign state and a recognized country. Although connections such as military reinforcement from France should be cut off, due to neo-colonialism these relations are still present. Since the French seized power in July, this is an act against Niger’s sovereignty. On an individual level, Macron (the president of France) controls Niger and benefits France economically through uranium. However, this control threatens the well-being of the people of Niger and detriments the stability of Niger’s economy and government, ultimately pinning them against France and shifting to having affiliations with Russia.