Coup in Niger: French evacuation operation completed, 1,079 people repatriated including 577 French

Departure Five planes in total have been chartered by the French army since Tuesday

French soldiers and citizens of European countries are seen outside the Diori Hamani international airport in Niamey August 2, 2023. The first planes carrying French and other European citizens evacuated from Niger landed in Paris on Wednesday, a week after a bomb ousted one of the last pro-Western leaders in the jihadist Sahel. — Stanislas Poyet/AFP

1,079 French and foreign nationals “are now safe”. The operation to repatriate French and foreign nationals from Niger, launched by the French government after General Tiani’s putsch, has just been completed, the government announced. this Thursday the French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu on X (ex-Twitter) and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a message also posted on X, the Quai d’Orsay has clarified that “577 French nationals and beneficiaries, and many other nationalities” were among those evacuated, posting nearly 50 flags of the affected countries. A total of five aircraft were chartered by the French army since Tuesday.

A last plane in transit from Chad

The last has not yet returned to France. The aircraft landed. on Wednesday night at Thursday on the military airport of N'Djamena, in Chad, indicated sources informed of the operation. The passengers were entrusted to the French Embassy.

“The plane is carrying less than 100 passengers, it just made a refueling stop and already has to stop. leave” with its passengers, clarified; to AFP an official of the French Embassy in Chad.

Niger’s former head of the presidential guard, Gé leader Abdourahamane Tiani, took power in head of a junta on July 26, retaining President Mohamed Bazoum ever since. Pro-putschists organized a violent demonstration against the French Embassy on Sunday in Niamey, which led France to propose to its nationals and foreign nationals to be evacuated.

The evacuation took place on a voluntary basis. About 600 French people demonstrated. their wish to leave. A total of 1,200 French people are registered on consular lists, but some of them are on vacation outside Niger.