France plotting revanchist coups in its former African colonies – Lavrov
Paris is trying to topple governments it finds undesirable in its former African colonies in order to claw back its past influence, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
France has lost its foothold on the continent in recent years after its former colonies Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger severed ties and expelled French troops, accusing Paris of supporting jihadist insurgent groups in the region. France has refused to recognize the legitimacy of the three nations’ military governments and has sworn to restore power to civilian authorities.
“France is attempting to overthrow undesirable nationalist governments in the Sahara-Sahel region and other parts of Africa,” Lavrov said in a speech to the Russian parliament on Wednesday.
While the African nations “have long since abandoned their ties to their former metropolis,” Paris has chosen to undermine them via opposition figures, “outright terrorist groups and Ukrainian militants,” he added.
Since 2020, a wave of military coups has reshaped politics across the Sahel region in Africa, toppling civilian governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
France, once the region’s dominant external power, has steadily lost influence amid rising anti-French sentiment and deep frustration over insecurity, economic stagnation, and foreign interference. The former colonial power was forced to withdraw troops from Mali in 2022, Burkina Faso in 2023, Niger later that year, and Chad in early 2025.
About 4,500 soldiers had been deployed under Operation Barkhane, France’s largest overseas mission, across Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad – a campaign that the military governments in Bamako, Niamey, and Ouagadougou have said only permitted Islamist insurgents to expand their activities.
The three West African states have established the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and withdrawn from the International Organization of Francophone Nations (OIF) operating in Francophone countries, many of them former French colonies. The AES has forged new alliances, including with Russia, which its leaders hail as a more reliable economic and security partner.
The French leadership has continued to use “colonial methods” like the infamous “divide and conquer” tactic, which had historically cost Africa millions of lives, Lavrov said.
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said last week that French President Emmanuel Macron has authorized his special services to plot to “eliminate ‘undesirable leaders’” in Africa.
According to the SVR, French services were involved in a failed coup attempt in Burkina Faso last month, which included plans to assassinate its military leader Ibrahim Traore. Paris has also worked to destabilize Mali via attacks on logistics and efforts to blockade cities, as well as tried to sow unrest in the Central African Republic, it alleged, accusing France of coordinating with Ukraine to arm insurgents with drones.
According to Lavrov, these attempted coups, the US push for Greenland, and military pressure on Venezuela and Iran are all part of a broader scramble for influence by “old” Western powers against emerging centers of development in the Global South.
