Guillaume Dominguez, edited by Alexandre Dalifard / Photo credit: AFP
On Wednesday, the day after the evacuation of several hundred French nationals from Niger, thousands of people gathered in Niamey to support the perpetrators of the coup. Faced with this, France is asking the Niger authorities to guarantee the security of its embassy. But how to do it?
Thousands of people gathered in Niamey on Wednesday to support the perpetrators of the coup in Niger that overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum, the day after the evacuation of several hundred French nationals from the country. Coming at the call of M62, a coalition of “sovereign” civil society organizations, several thousand demonstrators gathered on the day of the 63rd anniversary of Niger’s independence from France.
Ahead of the rally, France asked the authorities of Niger to guarantee the security of its embassy after the attack which targeted the French institution last Sunday during a similar demonstration. In this context, how is France able to ensure the security of its embassy?
Vienna Convention
Only one way, diplomacy. According to Article 22 of the Vienna Convention, States have an obligation to take all appropriate measures to prevent the premises of foreign diplomatic missions from being invaded or damaged. It is also on the basis of this principle that Paris has asked the Nigerien authorities to ensure the security of the French embassy in Niamey. Problem, this request from the Quai d’Orsay is addressed to the putschists who dismissed President Mohamed Bazoum, an authority that France does not officially recognize.
It is therefore impossible, according to geopolitical scientist Michel Galy, to guarantee the intervention of the police in Niger in the event of a problem. “In principle, Niger’s army and police should come between the protesters and the embassy. But there is no way to compel a state to do its part of the Vienna conventions. There are ways pressure both diplomatic and military, but there is no possible constraint on a State from abroad”, he explains at the microphone of Europe 1. For his part, to guarantee the best security of the diplomatic mission, France ordered the repatriation of a large part of the staff of the embassy, leaving in post only the ambassador and the essential personnel.