Catherine Colonna, the French foreign minister, answering the question if Paris would assist in the intervention in its former African colony, told media that "we are not in this,". She added that it was up to the leaders of the 15-nation ECOWAS whether to "take the decision to intervene and to set out the framework for this possible intervention."
The diplomat warned the military leaders that it should take the threat of use of force by ECOWAS very seriously because it was "credible."
Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum was overturned last weekend by his own elite guard, whose commander, Abdourahmane Tchiani, was named the country’s new leader. The president's office initially said that Tchiani did not have the army’s backing, but its command eventually came out in support of the rebel general.