France said Friday it “regrets” Burkina Faso’s decision to cut diplomatic relations, calling the move “hostile and unfounded” and describing it as evidence of “the worrying drift of the Burkinabè authorities.”
Burkina Faso’s military government announced on national television that it was severing ties with France effective immediately, accusing Paris of “blatant neo-colonial ambitions and active support for subversive networks and terrorists,” without offering evidence. Communications Minister Pingdwendé Gilbert Ouedraogo said an internal review had found that “the essential conditions for fostering relations based on mutual respect, reciprocal trust, and respect for the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and national sovereignty are no longer met.”
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said in response that Paris was reviewing “necessary reciprocal measures” and was monitoring the safety of French government personnel and citizens in Burkina Faso, urging them to exercise heightened vigilance. The ministry added that France “reiterates its solidarity with the people of Burkina Faso and recalls the strong ties that unite our two nations.”
Burkina Faso’s government said the rupture is limited strictly to official state relations and does not affect “the historical, human, cultural and social ties” between the two peoples. It said French nationals in the country would remain protected under Burkinabè law and called for “restraint and civic duty toward French nationals and all expatriates.”
The break is the latest and most decisive rupture in a relationship that has steadily deteriorated since Captain Ibrahim Traoré seized power in a September 2022 coup. France was once Burkina Faso’s principal security partner in the fight against extremist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, but the junta expelled French troops shortly after taking power, recalled its ambassador in 2023, and expelled three French diplomats in 2024 over alleged subversive activity.
The move cements Burkina Faso’s alignment with Mali and Niger in the Alliance of Sahel States, a bloc the three juntas formed after withdrawing from the West African regional body ECOWAS, as all three have pivoted toward Russia for security cooperation while distancing themselves from former colonial ties to Paris. The break comes as France has publicly sought to recast its broader Africa policy away from the “Françafrique” model that long defined its postcolonial influence on the continent.
