Macron warns against attacks on French interests in Niger after coup

French President Emmanuel Macron said France will respond “immediately” to any violence against French interests in Niger following the coup in the African country.

The French government “will not tolerate any attack on France and its interests” in Niger, Macron said on Sunday, according to media reports.

Macron’s comments were in response to thousands of people demonstrating in front of the French embassy in Niamey, the capital of Niger. According to media reports, the crowds in front of the French embassy were shouting “Long live Putin” and “Down with France.”

Tensions are running high in Niger after the country’s military last week took the country’s democratically elected president hostage and proclaimed it was in charge. 

West African leaders were holding an emergency meeting on Sunday in Nigeria to decide what to do about the coup, Reuters reported. The military leaders in Niger claimed the goal of the meeting was to plan a military response to the coup.

The EU — and France particularly — had previously invested heavily in Niger, with Paris sending resources and troops to the country and the EU committing €40 million to help train and equip Niger’s military.