Bamako and Paris again came close to a diplomatic crisis. Thursday, September 15, two soldiers from the French embassy stationed in the Malian capital were arrested, before being released Friday at the end of the morning. If the incident now seems closed, it illustrates the climate of persistent tension between France and Mali, whose relations have continued to deteriorate since the military came to power in Bamako following the two August 2020 and May 2021 status.
According to several French diplomatic sources, the two liaison officers working with the defense attaché of the embassy, in particular responsible for ensuring the safety of the French living in Bamako, had left on Thursday to carry out “a security risk assessment mission” in the city center of the capital. Arrived near a private school welcoming many children of French expatriates, the two soldiers took photos of a vacant lot, supposed to serve as a gathering point for French nationals in the event of a forced evacuation.
“While they were photographing it, a crowd of young people formed around them. Malian soldiers were nearby. As one of their military bases is nearby, the latter arrested them, thinking that they were spying on their camp. There was confusion. After checking their phones, they were released. It’s just a misunderstanding.”says a French diplomatic source.
Diplomatic protection
In the wake of their arrest, people and associations known to be close to the junta took up the case, welcoming the arrest on social networks. “thanks to the patriotism of the Malian population”of these two Frenchmen, described as“white spies”. At the French Embassy as at the Quai d’Orsay, the nervousness had then gone up a notch.
The two agents, benefiting, by their status, from diplomatic protection, should not have been arrested and even less retained at the Malian General Directorate of State Security (DGSE). “Their presence was known to the authorities. They had the necessary diplomatic documents and acted within a legal and transparent framework”, emphasizes the Ministry of Defence.
Some diplomats feared a ” socket of hostages” orchestrated by the junta. The ongoing diplomatic crisis between Côte d’Ivoire and Mali over the fate of 46 Ivorian soldiers, detained by the junta since July 10 and considered by Abidjan to be “hostages”, fueling anxiety.
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