France has expressed its support for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decision to lift sanctions on Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. This was confirmed by the French Chargé d’affaires in Nigeria, Jean-Francois Hasperue, during an interview in Abuja.
ECOWAS had imposed sanctions on the three Sahelian countries in 2023 following military coups in these nations. However, the sanctions were lifted in February 2024, shortly after the countries announced their intention to exit ECOWAS and form the Alliance of Sahel States.
Mr. Hasperue stated that France supports ECOWAS’s efforts to resolve the issues in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, and to keep them within the sub-regional organization. He emphasized that France and the European Union back the political decisions made by regional organizations like ECOWAS.
“So when ECOWAS decided to make a diplomatic gesture towards these countries in February, we supported the decision. As a matter of principle, France and the European Union support political decisions by sub-regional organizations like ECOWAS,” Hasperue said.
He explained that similar support was given to the East African Community in their efforts to address the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). France’s stance is to support regional decisions and work in partnership to address crises in Africa.
Mr. Hasperue clarified that France did not influence ECOWAS’s decision to impose sanctions on the Sahelian countries in August 2023. The decision was made independently by the sovereign states within ECOWAS, who deemed the military coups a significant threat to the region.
“The military coups d’état were becoming too much, so they decided to try to end that, but France didn’t influence and had nothing to do with the decisions,” he stated.
He also highlighted that the military juntas in these countries were hampering efforts to combat terrorism, posing a risk of the spread of terrorist activities to neighboring states.
Mr. Hasperue concluded by reaffirming France’s commitment to supporting ECOWAS’s decisions: “And, as I said earlier, whatever ECOWAS decides, as friends, we will support the decision. That’s the orientation we have taken together.”
