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France has withdrawn all its diplomats from Burkina Faso following a breakdown in relations between the two countries, according to the French foreign ministry.
The ministry confirmed on Monday that all French diplomatic personnel had already returned to France “late last week,” marking a complete pullout after Ouagadougou severed diplomatic ties with Paris last month.
In a reciprocal move, Burkina Faso’s charge D’affaires was summoned to the French foreign ministry earlier in the week and informed that Burkinabè diplomatic staff were required to leave France by Monday evening. The ministry described the situation as regrettable.
The rupture follows a sustained deterioration in relations since Burkina Faso’s military junta took power in a September 2022 coup. Since then, junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré, 38, has advanced a strongly anti-Western foreign policy, positioning his administration away from traditional partners such as France.
French authorities have accused the Burkinabè leadership of escalating hostility while maintaining that Paris continues to support the Burkinabè people. The junta, however, has repeatedly accused France of “relentless activism” aimed at undermining its interests, while insisting that the diplomatic rupture does not affect people-to-people relations.
Tensions escalated further in 2023 when the junta demanded the recall of France’s ambassador to Ouagadougou, Luc Hallade, and subsequently expelled French military forces that had been deployed to support counter-insurgency operations against jihadist groups active in the country for over a decade.
Since then, Burkina Faso has increasingly shifted its foreign alliances, strengthening ties with Russia, Turkey, and Iran as part of a broader realignment away from former colonial partners.
