France has flatly rejected Niger's claim that Paris helped orchestrate a failed military mutiny last week, calling the accusations "pure fantasy" as a diplomatic row between the two countries deepens. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told RFI radio on Saturday that "there never was any intention, nor means that France would have mobilised," adding that blaming Paris was "a way of wrongly blaming France for something it is simply not responsible for."

The mutiny took place on 29 August, when disgruntled soldiers attacked Base 101, a military facility inside Niamey's international airport, and fired shots near the presidential palace in the Nigerien capital. State media reported that hundreds of soldiers were involved. The uprising was suppressed the following day by Niger's army, aided by Russian paramilitary fighters known as Africa Corps — the same forces that have underpinned the ruling junta's security since it came to power. At least five people died in the violence, including members of the presidential guard and civilians, though Niger's government only publicly acknowledged civilian deaths in the days after the assault.

Niger's ruling military council, which met for the first time since the unrest on Friday, doubled down on its accusations. Government spokesman Soumana Boubacar, in a statement read on national television, alleged that "a vast network of collusion headed by the French regime of Mr Macron" had instigated and sustained the operation, and that soldiers who took part had been promised rewards by France. The government also broadened its accusations to include unnamed African neighbours, with a military official on television naming Benin, Chad, Ivory Coast and the West African regional bloc ECOWAS as backers of the plot. Benin's government rejected the claim, with a spokesman saying "no one in their right mind" believed it.

Relations between Niamey and Paris have deteriorated sharply since General Abdourahamane Tchiani seized power in a coup in July 2023, after which Niger expelled French forces and turned to Russia for military support, severing ties with its former colonial power. Tensions have been compounded by Niger's seizure of uranium assets belonging to French nuclear company Orano, a significant economic flashpoint given Niger's status as one of the world's major uranium producers.

Analysts caution against taking the junta's accusations at face value. They note that the true driver of the mutiny appears to be deep frustration among front-line soldiers who have suffered heavy casualties fighting jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State — a conflict that has continued unabated despite Niger's pivot towards Russian military backing. Observers suggest the government's repeated focus on France is aimed less at building a legal case — Niger has said it reserves the right to pursue the matter in international courts — and more at managing domestic opinion in an increasingly volatile security environment.