Four French officials, accused of espionage and detained since 1 December 2023 in Burkina Faso, have been released: the French Directorate General of Foreign Intelligence (DGSE) announced on Thursday 19 December.
President Emmanuel Macron expressed his joy at this release by thanking King Mohammed VI for his decisive role in the mediation, the TV channel reports France24: “The Head of State spoke yesterday, Wednesday 18 December, with the King of Morocco to thank him warmly for the success of this mediation”.
Arrested in Ouagadougou on 1 December 2023, the four men were presented by the Burkinabe authorities as espionage agents from beyond the Alps. However, a French diplomatic source clarified that they were public officials on an official mission, with diplomatic passports and visas. The same source strongly denied any accusation related to espionage activities, explaining that the people involved were working on IT maintenance projects. But according to ReutersThe director of the DGSE had previously stated that they were spies.
President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Wednesday “to thank him warmly for the successful mediation that made the release of our four compatriots possible,” the Elysée said.
The Moroccan king’s mediation comes at a time when Paris and Rabat are warming relations that had been cold, aided by Macron’s state visit at the end of October. Macron notably renewed French support for Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Morocco’s Foreign Ministry also thanked King Mohammed VI and Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traore and said “this humanitarian act” was made possible thanks to the good relations between their countries.
After three years of tensions between Paris and Rabat fueled by immigration issues and the disputed territory of Western Sahara, France reconciled with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, in October, following a series of moves.
Morocco maintains good ties with Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel states, promising them access to global trade across the Atlantic.
But France’s ties with its former colonies in West and Central Africa, including Burkina Faso, remain strained. Ouagadougou expelled French troops and diplomats, ordered France’s defense attaché and ambassador to leave and suspended some French media.
Burkina Faso, reports APruled by a military junta that seized power in a coup in 2022, has been criticized by international human rights groups for cracking down on free speech and intimidating critics as it tries to contain a security crisis caused by militants linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
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