French Unease Over Algeria’s Support for Niger’s Authorities

The French media remain focused on Algeria’s decision to send military aircraft to Nigerien authorities to help confront the failed coup attempt, despite the fact that nearly five days have passed since the incident.

The coverage gives the impression that the French are deeply unsettled by what happened and have yet to come to terms with a decision that represents a break with Algeria’s traditional positions. It also marks Algeria’s entry into a sphere that Paris still regards as its backyard, even after being forced to withdraw from it.

Among the French newspapers that have focused on the incident is Le Monde, which devoted two articles to the development on consecutive days. The latest was published on the newspaper’s website on Friday, September 4.

In an extensive article accompanied by a video, Le Monde returned to the issue through its Algeria specialist, Frédéric Bobin. The report focused on what it described as a “historic and unprecedented turning point in Algerian foreign policy,” one that signals the direction Algeria may take in the coming period toward its southern neighborhood, a region suffering from a chronic crisis of instability.

Although the newspaper attempted to address the issue with caution, given the sensitivity of the incident, its Algeria correspondent argued that “Algeria, which has historically adhered to the principle of strict non-interference in order to distinguish itself from neo-colonial powers, is abandoning its traditional restraint in favor of the principles of a conventional military power.” In his assessment, Algeria is moving away from “covert mediation in the gray areas between governments and rebel groups” toward “asserting its right to openly assist a friendly state under threat.”

Two days earlier, the newspaper had addressed the issue in another article, describing the move as an overt military demonstration beyond Algeria’s borders. The report appeared to reflect concern over a development that could have eliminated what remained of French influence in the former French colony, at a time when several parties have accused Paris of being behind the failed coup attempt in an effort to install a pro-French regime that would allow it to recover its lost influence in Niger, as well as elsewhere across the Sahel, including Mali, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic.

The most extreme reaction in the French press to Algeria’s decision to send military aircraft in support of Niger’s ruling authorities came from Marianne, a magazine known for its far-right leanings. It gave its article the provocative headline: “Algeria Crosses a Red Line It Had Drawn for More Than Fifty Years.” This despite the fact that Algeria’s amended 2020 Constitution had already paved the way for operations of this kind in cases involving threats to the country’s national security.

The far-right outlet attempted to portray the incident as interference in the affairs of a country that, until recently, had been part of Paris’s backyard. In doing so, however, it overlooked a fundamental point: Algeria’s sovereign decision was made within the framework of international law and established international norms. Algeria acted after receiving an invitation from Niger’s ruling authorities, with which it shares a 1,200-kilometer border. This was underscored by the personal reception of the Algerian delegation by Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine, Defense Minister General Salifou Mody, and the Chief of Staff to the President of Niger.

Other French media outlets have also addressed the issue, including the French television channel TV5, which consulted several experts. Its coverage, however, approached the matter primarily from a security perspective, emphasizing that the intervention took place in a region experiencing considerable instability and external intervention by powers from outside the area—developments that could pose a threat to Algeria’s national security.

Observers believe that the French are deeply concerned by the growing Algerian influence in the Sahel at a time when French influence, both historically and in the present day, has declined sharply in the face of growing Russian, Chinese and Turkish involvement. This comes amid fierce criticism from French politicians and strategic analysts of President Emmanuel Macron’s handling of the situation.

Other observers, meanwhile, argue that Algeria’s move is consistent with a practice followed by countries whose borders are threatened by the presence of unstable regimes in their immediate vicinity. This is precisely what has been unfolding in the Sahel in recent years, prompting Algeria to seek to resolve its outstanding problems with its southern neighbors and “zero out” tensions with them, thereby enabling it to provide the support they may require when necessary.