France expels two Nigerien intelligence officers
The pair worked at Niger's embassy in Paris. One was suspected of watching exiled opponents of the junta, Le Monde reports.
Paris — France has expelled two intelligence officers posted at Niger's embassy in Paris, a diplomatic source has told the news agency AFP, according to Radio France Internationale.
The two were declared unwelcome on 16 September and have since left the country. The source said they "no longer had any reason to be present given the lack of cooperation" between the two governments.
The French newspaper Le Monde, citing a Nigerien source, reported that one of the officers was suspected of keeping watch on Nigerien opposition figures living in France.
A relationship in ruins
Relations collapsed after the coup of 26 July 2023, in which General Abdourahamane Tiani overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum. France refused to recognise the new rulers.
The junta ordered the French ambassador out, scrapped military agreements and demanded the departure of about 1,500 French soldiers. The last of them left in December 2023, and France closed its embassy in Niamey that month.
Niger's embassy in Paris stayed open.
A pattern
Niger has since drawn closer to Russia and to its fellow military-ruled neighbours, Mali and Burkina Faso, in the Alliance of Sahel States.
In September 2025 France expelled two officials from Mali's embassy in Paris, after a French intelligence agent was arrested in Bamako and accused of involvement in a coup plot. The agent was pardoned and released in August this year.
This report is based on reporting by Radio France Internationale, published by AllAfrica.
