Bamako has summoned the former colonial power's ambassador after Emmanuel Macron again blasted the junta for deflecting from what he sees as its own lack of governance. From the second coup in one year to Paris's decision to draw down part of the 5,000 troops it has stationed in the fight against a jihadist insurgency, the escalating war of words went into overdrive two weeks ago when Mali's prime minister accused France of abandoning his country.
Last Thursday, Mali received a delivery of four Russian helicopters, just as France had buried with full honors its fifty-second soldier killed in action in Mali since 2013. Paris is warning it won't stick around if the junta agrees to hire Wagner, a private security firm that is accused of human rights abuses in another former French colony, the Central African Republic.
How serious are the Malians about ditching French support in favour of Russia? Where would that leave African, European and UN forces also implicated in the fight against the insurgency, particularly neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, which are increasingly the target of the same radicals?
Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Sophie Pizzimenti and Léopoldine Iribarren
