What's Happening in Niger and Why?

The map shows you where Niger and its capital Niamey are. Note its proximity to two of the nations that have voiced support for the coup, Mali and Burkina Faso. Niger is a majority Muslim nation that was still very much under the boot of its Colonial Master France, which is the primary reason for the coup. This al-Mayadeen article from the 4th is packed with info:

Under colonial rule, the people of Niger capitulated in front of French supremacy as a prerequisite for survival. 

The country subsequently encountered famines, which prompted the colonial government to introduce food security measures in 1913, 1920, and 1931. A puppet sultan was also installed, which led to marginalization and a notable decline in the North of the colony. French gross exploitation was also characterized by exporting Niger’s own indigenous agricultural products in outlying areas to local and international markets to benefit the French Crown. These harrowing realities are precisely why Niger continues to lag behind most of its contemporaries on the continent, let alone the world. 

Fast forward to 2023, then instability in Niamey is being followed up with renewed calls from Paris to militarily intervene and sow chaos. Calls to push back against the coup were the loudest from France with the Military Council stating clearly that the former colonial power is plotting to intervene to restore President Mohamed Bazoum’s rule. Bazoum’s ousted government and its former Foreign Minister, Hassoumi Massoudou, also signed an authorization document, allowing the French to attack the presidential palace. Last week, the junta stated that the ousted government was authorizing France to conduct a military operation to restore the Bazoum government. This is despite the fact that neighboring countries Mali and Burkina Faso issued a joint statement that any military intervention into Niger to restore Bazoum will constitute an act of war. 

Even if the veracity of the Junta’s claims is considered questionable, pro-Russia and anti-France slogans from the public after the coup demonstrates that the social contract that France is seeking to erode is clearly in favor of the coup. According to a businessman based in the central city of Zinder, France is not wanted in Niger given that it exploited the country’s uranium deposits, petrol, and gold reserves. Many in the public also hold France accountable for the Nigerien public not being able to afford basic necessities. This sentiment has been echoed previously by populist, right-wing Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni who accused France of ensuring that Niger languishes in poverty. 

Niger hosts a French military base and is home to one of the largest uranium deposits in the world. It is also the world’s seventh largest producer of uranium with a quarter of exports going to Europe and France being a major recipient. Yet despite this, its economy has teetered. Agriculture amounts to 40% of its GDP and more than 10 million people or an astonishing 41.8% of its population live below the poverty line in 2021. Furthermore, out of 24.4 million people, two in every five live in extreme poverty or less than $2.15 a day. 

It is clear that Niger has not witnessed the trickle-down effect of uranium exports to France and Paris with its penchant for intervening in Niger’s affairs will seek to continue its vicious cycle of exploitation. Based on France’s statements and evidence provided by the Military Council, Macron has no intention to initiate dialogue to settle the dispute or come up with a sustainable peace framework to mitigate tensions. Similar to the American approach in Libya, France has opted to lend unconditional support to one side of the crisis while mounting pressure on the military government. This approach in a continent that has a history of colonialism has only led to a proliferation of terrorism, a breakdown in social systems, widespread poverty, and devastation. 

Unsurprisingly, Niger halted gold and uranium exports to France while the national anthem as a symbol of colonialism was also discarded prior to the coup. The sentiment of the Nigerien people runs deep and praise for countries that adopt an anti-interventionist stance, such as Russia, is not without basis. [My Emphasis]

The stats provided underscore the level of exploitation exercised by France as it’s clearly done nothing to upgrade the quality of life for the vast majority of Nigerens. Niger isn’t the only African nation that’s rebelling; rather, it’s merely joining the trend which is why Mali and Burkina Faso both support Niger’s efforts. The main tool employed by France was known as the African Franc Zone, otherwise known as the CFA Franc. Its history is not well known to most but knowing it is mandatory to gain an understanding of why former French Colonies are in such bad shape while those that fought to break free completely—Algeria being the example—are doing so much better. This excellent analysis from 2020 enlightens us on the CFA Franc and much more beyond this excerpt:

The CFA franc system has, since its origins, rested on four pillars. The first is the fixed parity between the CFA franc and the French currency (the French franc and, from 1999, the euro). Next is the freedom of transfer of capital and income within the franc zone. Third is the guaranteed convertibility of the CFA franc at a fixed rate, namely the French Treasury’s promise to lend the BCEAO and the BEAC the desired volumes of French currency when they no longer have enough foreign reserves.

But as a counterpart to this “guarantee”, France is itself represented in the BCEAO and BEAC bodies – their boards, monetary policy committees and control organs – with a statutory right of veto that has become implicit over time.

The other counterpart is that these two central banks are compelled to deposit part of their exchange reserves with the French Treasury. In the wake of independence, the obligatory deposit quota stood at 100%, before it was reduced to 65% in 1973 and then 50% in 2005.

This, indeed, is the fourth principle: the centralisation of their exchange reserves in the hands of the French Treasury. This implies that the French Treasury is, effectively, the bureau de change of the countries that use the CFA franc. All conversion operations from the CFA franc into other currencies have to pass via the French Treasury. It is worth underlining, moreover, that the Banque de France holds 85% of the BCEAO’s monetary gold stock.

If France has been committed to maintaining the franc zone for over 70 years, that is because it benefits from it. This was explicitly recognised in a 1970 report by the French Socio-Economic Council which listed the “incontestable advantages for France”. First, France could pay its imports from franc zone countries in its own currency. This allowed it to save on foreign currency and keep up its own exchange rate. This has been important in a world where the dollar is the main currency for international trade and the French franc weak and unstable.

French companies operating in the zone moreover benefit from large – and stable – outlets for trade. Added to this, the French economy benefits from a trade surplus with regard to the franc zone countries, which also provide it a far from negligible amount of exchange reserves which have sometimes been used to pay France’s debts. French companies also have the guaranteed freedom to repatriate their revenue and capitals without any foreign exchange risk, thanks to the free-transfer policy and the fact that France decides the zone’s exchange and monetary policy.

Lastly, thanks to the CFA franc France enjoys a system of political control serving its own economic interests. This also costs France nothing, since its supposed convertibility “guarantee” has rarely been put into effect. Indeed, the French Treasury has often offered negative interest rates (in real terms) for African exchange reserves, meaning that the BCEAO and the BEAC have been losing money – it is as if they paid the French Treasury to keep their foreign reserves. And on the few occasions that African countries have had foreign-payments problems, France has appealed for IMF intervention or joined with the IMF to demand a currency devaluation, as in 1994.

The CFA franc’s benefits aren’t just for France, however – they extend to importers and to the African upper classes, whose appetite for imported luxuries explains their preference for an overvalued exchange rate. For African political leaders, the CFA franc is a mechanism to facilitate the transfer of financial resources, no matter how they were acquired. And, as long as they stay quiet on the issue, they have the backing of the French government against political dissidents and their own people in times of trouble. This is especially the case in Central African countries, most of whose presidents have been in power for more than three decades. [My Emphasis]

If that sounds close to the Washington Consensus, it’s because it’s very similar in design and outcomes. This one last citation contains two links whose importance ought to be self-explanatory:

Indeed, French elites are still unable to think about their own country’s future, except in terms of the continued subjection of Africa. Even back in 1957, the future Socialist president François Mitterrand opined that “Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century.” This outlook has continued to guide French foreign policy: as recently as 2013, the French Senate expressed the same convictions in a report entitled “Africa is Our Future”.

And thus the outburst by Macron aimed at Russia earlier this year in February accusing Russia of “neocolonial political involvement” in Africa, specifically French Africa. Here’s how RT reported Lavrov’s retort:

French allegations that Moscow is pursuing a neocolonialist policy in Africa turn reality upside down, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, adding that they are part of the Western proxy war against Russia….

In recent months, Burkina Faso, Mali, and the Central African Republic have shown France’s military forces the door. The Central African Republic invited Russia’s Wagner Group to help with its sectarian conflict. The government in Bangui has said that Russia “saved” the country.

Lavrov called the French allegations “an attempt to demonize Russia” – claims that require no comment, he added. [Emphasis Original]

France’s desperation to continue to continue its exploitation of its former African colonies includes assassination of nationalist leaders and overthrowing governments, often employing the Anti-Communist Crusade as cover for its actions. But that ruse is no longer valid and thus more blatant actions are contrived, like introducing NATO’s Terrorist Foreign Legion into the region thus making it possible to force governments to ask for help in combating the imported terrorists. And of course, the goal isn’t to eliminate the terrorists as their goal is to be present there to react in France’s interest as in Niger’s case currently. And that’s why the big accusation with Wagner being hired since Wagner will eliminate the terrorists. Given the history presented above and its expansion at the links provided, France is THE Problem and its tentacles attached to Africa need to be severed and the French will need to learn how to live within their means. And it can be said that Latin America’s condition is due to a similar sort of comprador control exerted by former colonial masters and the Outlaw US Empire. The prognosis isn’t good when we look at Syria when it comes to ousting illegal occupying forces. Nigeria is the most powerful regional nation but it’s also compromised in this case. The triumvirate of leaders in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso form a very strong nationalist core, and it’s likely many of the region’s people will back them. On the other side, France will try to continue its grip for as long as it can as it’s in dire condition otherwise. The outlaw US Empire’s presence is due to the importation of NATO’s Terrorist Foreign Legion and is unlikely to be peacefully ejected. The consensus prior to the Russia-Africa Summit and the Niger coup was Africa’s future would be greatly helped by China, Russia, African, and West Asian development involvement, while it must break free from forms of Neocolonial bondage. So, how Niger progresses will be an important marker.

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