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Burkina Faso’s ruling military junta cut diplomatic ties with its former colonial ruler, France, on Friday, accusing Paris of persistently acting against its national interests.
Captain Ibrahim Traore’s military regime, which has governed the West African nation since a September 2022 coup, announced the immediate diplomatic break in a statement broadcast on national television on June 26, 2026.
The junta explicitly charged France with harbouring neo-colonial ambitions and supporting both subversive networks and the terrorists who plunge the Sahel region into mourning.
The government clarified that the decision strictly alters the institutional framework of relations between the two states at the diplomatic level.
Officials emphasised that the move does not jeopardise the historical, human, cultural, and social ties that unite the Burkinabè and French peoples.
The diplomatic split comes as Burkina Faso and several neighbouring countries navigate a decade of deadly violence driven by terrorists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
This breakdown in relations occurs amid surging anti-French sentiment across several former African colonies, coinciding with expanding Russian and Chinese influence on the continent.
While France historically maintained a heavy post-colonial footprint through frequent military interventions since the early 1960s, Paris has recently vowed to abandon its traditional “Françafrique” strategy of political collusion and exclusive business access.
