Paris, 15 September 2023 (dpa/MIA) - A French ambassador holding out in Niger since the coup is being held "hostage" together with his staff, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.

"In Niger, as I speak to you, we have an ambassador and diplomatic staff who are literally being held hostage in the French embassy," Macron said on Friday.

"They are preventing the delivery of food," Macron said of the leaders of the coup, adding that the ambassador was living on military rations.

The French ambassador had been given an ultimatum to leave the country by the end of August, by the new leaders of Niger who ousted the democratically elected president in a putsch on July 26.

However, France does not recognize the new military leaders, Paris said. The junta was not entitled to demand the ambassador's departure because his accreditation came from the elected Nigerien representatives, it stressed.

Niger's president Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in the military coup carried out by an elite unit whose leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani, appointed himself the new ruler and suspended the constitutional order.

Niger was one of France's most important partners in its anti-terrorism fight in the Sahel. Paris has around 2,500 soldiers stationed in Niger and neighbouring Chad.

Meanwhile, the military junta in Burkina Faso expelled the French defence attaché from the country, due to "subversive activities."

Emmanuel Pasquier and his staff must leave the country within two weeks, said a statement by the Foreign Ministry. In addition, Burkina Faso would close its military mission in Paris "with immediate effect," it said.

Burkina Faso is led by a transitional government following a military coup in autumn. Like neighbouring Mali and Niger, it has pivoted away from former colonial power France and other Western partners.

Photo: EPA