Burkina Faso Cuts Ties with France Over Diplomatic Disputes
The military government said the move follows a review of relations and does not affect historical ties or protections for French nationals.
- On Friday, June 26, 2026, the government of Burkina Faso announced it has severed diplomatic relations with France, widening the rift with its former colonial ruler.
- Communications Minister Gilbert Ouedraogo cited a lack of mutual trust and interference in internal affairs, accusing France of "neo-colonial ambitions" supporting subversive networks plunging the Sahel into mourning.
- The government statement added that the decision "exclusively concerns diplomatic relations between the two states" and "does not call into question the historical, human, cultural and social ties" between peoples.
- Military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore has increasingly distanced the country from Paris, aligning instead with Russia and China as former African colonies in the Sahel reduce French influence.
- Landlocked Burkina Faso continues grappling with armed groups including the Qaeda-backed Jama at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, while Human Rights Watch found the military committed atrocities against Fulani civilians.
33 Articles
33 Articles
NOS
rd.nlBurkina Faso has severed diplomatic ties with France. Relations between Burkina Faso and former colonizer France had already deteriorated in recent years. The country's military regime claims that France is "interfering too much in internal affairs." It also accuses France of "openly harboring neocolonial ambitions and actively supporting subversive networks and terrorists who are causing great suffering to the country and the Sahel." French For…
The text adopted on 18 June by the deputies in Brussels was carried by Christophe Gomart, director of French military intelligence until 2017. According to information from the "World", the Burkina Faso authorities have set France a period of seven days, starting on 26 June, to close its embassy in Ouagadougou.
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