French FM Defends Expelled Envoy, Describes Burkina Faso's Move as 'Not Standard Practice'

Earlier this week, officials in France confirmed media reports that Ouagadougou had sent an official letter to the French Foreign Ministry in late December 2022 demanding that Paris recall the head of its diplomacy in Burkina Faso, Ambassador Luc Hallade, who had been declared a persona non grata by the former French colony.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Thursday expressed her support for France’s envoy to Burkina Faso, Luc Hallade, who was officially requested to leave the West African country amid rising tensions between France and its former colony.

“I would like to express my support and our support for our ambassador and for all the embassy staff, who are doing a remarkable job in conditions which, as you know, are difficult,” Colonna told French media.

The French minister confirmed receiving a letter from the military government of Ouagadougou requesting a change in envoy.

On Monday, a spokesperson for Burkina Faso’s government disclosed to the media that France’s envoy to Ouagadougou, who had been the French ambassador to Burkina Faso since September 9, 2019, had been declared a persona non grata.

Although Ouagadougou authorities did not point out the reasons for the expulsion of the French representative, many people suggested that Hallade's departure could “partially” be related to a recent letter sent by the diplomat to French nationals living in the city of Koudougou in Burkina Faso's Boulkiemdé province. Hallade advised French nationals to “relocate” to the country’s capital Ouagadougou or to the city of Bobo Dioulasso in the southwest of Burkina Faso.

The incident involving the French ambassador came amid deteriorating relations between Paris and Ouagadougou, in addition to growing anti-French sentiment among the Burkinabe people, who have repeatedly protested France’s interference in the African nation’s affairs. In July 2022, Ambassador Hallade was forced to apologize after making statements comparing the situation in Burkina Faso to a “civil war.”

A few weeks prior to Hallade's expulsion, the government of President Ibrahim Traore suspended the broadcast of France's state-owned Radio France International (RFI), accusing it of spreading “a message to intimidate the public, attributed to a terrorist leader.”