France Condemns Gabon Coup As Another African Ally Falls

France condemned the toppling of Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba on Wednesday which could represent another setback for Paris in Africa where friendly governments have been falling in an "epidemic" of coups

Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Aug, 2023 ) :France condemned the toppling of Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba on Wednesday which could represent another setback for Paris in Africa where friendly governments have been falling in an "epidemic" of coups.

France "condemns the military coup that is under way in Gabon", government spokesman Olivier Veran told reporters in Paris after military officers announced on television that they had overturned the government.

Veran said that France was following events "with a lot of attention" and that it "reiterates its desire to see the results of the election respected," referring to Saturday's disputed presidential polls in the West African country.

Gabon's electoral authority had announced earlier Wednesday that Bongo, a French ally whose family has ruled oil-rich Gabon for 55 years, had won a third term with 64.

27 of the vote.

France has around 400 soldiers permanently deployed in the country for training and military support, including at a base in the capital, and has extensive economic ties to the country in the mining and oil sectors.

The political demise of Bongo -- who has been placed under house arrest along with other top officials, according to the new military regime -- fits a pattern of coups in French-speaking Africa in recent years.

In Mali, Burkino Faso and latterly Niger in the northwest Sahel region, new military governments have taken openly hostile positions towards France, tapping into resentment felt by many locals about the former colonial power and its ongoing influence.