Burkina Faso has expelled three French diplomats for "subversive activities," according to a foreign ministry note seen by Agence France-Presse on Thursday, April 18.
The three were declared "persona non grata" and told to leave the country in 48 hours, the foreign ministry said in a note dated Tuesday that was sent to the French embassy. According to the Burkina ministry, the diplomats are Gwenaelle Habouzit, Herve Fournier and Guillaume Reisacher.
France said there were no grounds for Burkina Faso to expel the diplomats. "There were no legitimate grounds for the Burkinabe authorities' decision. We can only deplore it," said Christophe Lemoine, a French foreign ministry spokesman.
He said allegations against the three were "unfounded", after Ouagadougou accused them of "subversive activities".
On December 1, four French officials were arrested, charged and imprisoned in the capital Ouagadougou, according to a French source. The Burkinabe authorities said they were intelligence agents but the French source said they were IT support staff. The four are now under house arrest, according to Burkina security sources. In December 2022, Ouagadougou deported two French nationals working for a Burkina Faso company for alleged espionage.
French ambassador withdrawn after the coup
Since coming to power in a September 2022 coup, the junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traore has distanced the West African nation from France, which ruled the country until 1960. The French ambassador was withdrawn after the takeover, Burkina Faso canceled a 1961 military accord between the two countries, ordered a withdrawal of French troops and turned increasingly to Russia for security support.
France has ended anti-jihadist military missions in Mali and Burkina Faso and more recently began to withdraw forces from Niger – all three countries where juntas are now ruling after coups. Burkina Faso has increasingly turned to Russia, Mali and Niger for security assistance.