It may be a "consortium" but the French control the uranium mines in Niger. The original Brit sourcing for their intelligence about Iraqi-Nigerien yellowcake "contacts" (not PURCHASE, which the press willfully refuses to correct in its reporting) was most likely one of their expats in the mining industry familiar with African mines.
It's feasible the Iraqis were looking to Niger and the French (who built the Iraqi nuc weapons program at Osirak in the 1970's) for the long term (several years out) to ensure a yellowcake purchase. The French could easily have arranged a deal with shipment of the product to a 3rd party, to provide deniability it would end up in Iraq. With Iraq's existing yellowcake under UN IAEA seal, Iraq would have needed a new yellowcake supply to provide fuel for a future nuc facility.
Our State department pooh-poohed the above as unlikely. Surely any Nigerien sale of yellowcake to Iraq would be stopped by the French or detected by the West ....SARC
I have read that Niger also supplied yellowcake to Libya. That should not be hard to corroborate. Add to that French participation in spreading these forged documents around, and I think you have more than adequate reason to be suspicious of the French.