The French foreign ministry says it has received a letter from the Burkinabe authorities requesting the departure of France's ambassador from Burkina Faso – a move the ministry called "not standard practice".
The Burkinabe government has declined to comment officially on reports it sent this request to Paris in December.
The French ministry confirmed to RFI on Tuesday that it had received such a letter, but declined to give further details or say how it had responded.
"We have indeed received a letter from the Burkinabe transitional authorities. This is not standard practice and we have no public comment to make in response," a spokesperson said.
According to a diplomatic source, quoted by French news agency AFP, French Ambassador Luc Hallade was "still working" in Ouagadougou and the embassy's team was "accomplishing remarkable work in difficult conditions".
🛑L’ambassadeur de France au #Burkina Faso persona non grata.
— Afrique Mère (@MereAfrique) January 3, 2023
La diplomatie burkinabè réclame à la #France le rappel de son ambassadeur Luc Hallade. À travers un courrier officiel adressé décembre à Paris, Ouagadougou a demandé au Quai d'Orsay de « changer d’interlocuteur ». pic.twitter.com/JSG46K50dJ
It remains unclear why the Burkina authorities requested Hallade's departure.
According to Le Monde newspaper, it is linked to a letter of 12 December in which the ambassador requested French nationals in Koudougou – 100km west of Ouagadougou – leave the area for security reasons.
He advised them to move to the capital or to Bobo-Dioulasso, the country's second largest city.
So far, Burkina's interim government does not appear to want to sever diplomatic relations with France.
Jeune Afrique reports that the Burkina Minister of Foreign Affairs favours Hallade's replacement.
Worsening relations
The apparent expulsion nonetheless signals a further deterioration in relations between France and Burkina Faso, a former French colony in West Africa where France maintains strong ties and has stationed special forces.
Protests by opponents of the French military presence have surged there this year, partly linked to perceptions that France has not done enough to tackle an Islamist insurgency that has spread in recent years from neighbouring Mali.
The prolonged insecurity led to political instability and military coups in August 2020 and May 2021 in Mali, and in January 2022 and September 2022 in Burkina Faso.
Angry mobs targeted the French embassy, cultural centre and military base in Burkina Faso on the day of the second coup and on 18 November.
In late December, Burkinabe authorities ordered senior UN official Barbara Manzi to leave the country, accusing her of painting a negative picture of the security situation.
(with newswires)
