Well the Niger chief told the tribe good news and bad news. We quit selling to France so we have no food. Only Uranium to eat. Good news is we have plenty of uranium.
And you know what happens when you make the French mad … ….
From CNN:
“The coup plotters falsely claim that they acted to protect Niger’s security,” he wrote. “They allege that our war against jihadist terrorists is failing and that my economic and social governance, including partnerships with the United States and Europe, has hurt our country.”
Bazoum also cautioned that foreign aid makes up 40% of the national budget – and it would not be delivered if the coup succeeds.
Quote:
Speaking in an interview with FRANCE 24, the ambassador of the Republic of Niger to the US Kiari Liman-Tinguiri said ECOWAS’ potential military intervention in Niger would represent an opportunity for the junta to “go back to their barracks”.
From Wikipedia:
Niger has a wide variety of ethnic groups. The ethnic makeup of Niger in 2001 was as follows: Hausa (55.4%), Zarma & Songhay (21%), Tuareg (9.3%), Fula (French: Peuls; Fula: Fulɓe) (8.5%), Kanuri Manga (4.7%), Tubu (0.4%), Arab (0.4%), Gourmantche (0.4%), other (0.1%).[110] The Zarma and Songhay dominate the Dosso, Tillabéri, and Niamey régions, the Hausa dominate the Zinder, Maradi, and Tahoua regions, Kanuri Manga dominate the Diffa region, and Tuaregs dominate the Agadez region in Northern Niger.
Islam is the most dominant religion, practiced by 99.3% of the population according to the 2012 census.
The literacy rate of Niger is among the lowest in the world; in 2005 it was estimated to be only 28.7% (42.9% male and 15.1% female). Primary education in Niger is compulsory for six years. The primary school enrollment and attendance rates are low, particularly for girls. In 1997, the gross primary enrollment rate was 29.3 percent, and in 1996, the net primary enrollment rate was 24.5 percent.
The child mortality rate in Niger (deaths among children between the ages of 1 and 4) is high (248 per 1,000) due to generally poor health conditions and inadequate nutrition for most of the country’s children. According to the organization Save the Children, Niger has the world’s highest infant mortality rate.
Niger also has the highest fertility rate in the world (6.49 births per woman according to 2017 estimates); this has resulted in nearly half (49.7%) of the Nigerien population being under age 15 in 2020. Niger has the 11th highest maternal mortality rate in the world at 820 deaths/100,000 live births. There were 3 physicians and 22 nurses per 100,000 persons in 2006.
Clean drinking water is scarce by global standards, with significant differences between urban and rural areas. Niger is located at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index. Roughly 92% of the population lives in rural areas in the Tillabéri region along the western frontier, and there is a chronic scarcity of clean water, particularly during the hot season, when temperatures regularly exceed 40 degrees Celsius.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger
The deposed guy is an Arab.
Cutting off the uranium to France is a pretty major "attack" on "French Interests".
Even Inspector Clouseau could figure this one out: Pooty's fingerprints are all over it. Putin surely figures France is weak. And he'd surely love to peel them back out of NATO. But Russia is taking a huge risk here. The French / Macron may not respond at all the way Pooty would like / need / expect. And they might finally get off the pot with respect to aiding Ukraine.