Burkina Faso expels French diplomats for ‘subversive activities’

Burkina Faso’s military junta has expelled three French diplomats for “subversive activities,” according to a government statement.

The diplomats, two of whom are political advisers, were given 48 hours to leave on Thursday and no additional details were shared about the alleged subversive activities.

The French Foreign ministry responded in a statement, saying it rejects the “unfounded accusations made by the Burkina Faso authorities against our staff.”

Burkina Faso’s relationship with its former colonizer has steadily deteriorated since junta leaders severed military ties with Paris in 2023, ousting hundreds of French troops within a month.

More than 60 years after Burkina Faso’s independence, French remains an official language and France has maintained strong economic and humanitarian aid ties with its former colony. As the Islamic extremist insurgency has deepened, however, anti-French sentiment has spiked due in part to the unabating violence.

Other Western nations are seeing ties with Burkina Faso diminish if they criticize the military government. The junta is instead aligning itself with countries like Mali and Niger, also led by military juntas, and moving to improve ties with Russia and China.