French FM defends ambassador expelled from Burkina Faso

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Jan 2023 14:55
1 Shares

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna says expelled French Envoy in Burkina Faso, and their team, has done a "remarkable job" during "difficult times."

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Berlin, Germany May 24, 2022 (Reuters)

Earlier this week, French authorities corroborated media reports that Ouagadougou had issued a formal letter to the French Foreign Ministry Catherine Colonna in late December 2022 asking that Paris repatriate the French Ambassador in Burkina Faso Luc Hallade, who had been deemed persona non grata by the former French colony.

Luc Hallade, France's ambassador to Burkina Faso, has been asked to leave the West African nation amid escalating hostilities between France and its former colony. Colonna on Thursday voiced her solidarity with Hallade.

“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.

Earlier, Burkina Faso's military government asked the French Ambassador to leave the country after he allegedly asked his compatriots to move out of a city due to security concerns, French newspaper Le Monde reported, citing sources.

Luc Hallade, who has served since 2019 as ambassador, was asked to leave Burkina Faso in a letter that the country's government sent in late December to the French Foreign Ministry, according to Le Monde, whose sources in the African nation's government confirmed the content of the letter.

This comes less than a month after the Burkinabe Foreign Ministry declared UN Resident Coordinator Barbara Manzi persona non grata and asked her to leave the country immediately without providing any official reason.