On 26 June 2026, Burkina Faso became the second country in the Sahel to completely end all diplomatic ties with its former coloniser, France. On the national television network Radio Television Burkina (RTB), Gilbert Ouedraogo, the Minister of Communications, stated, “The essential conditions for promoting relations based on mutual respect, reciprocal trust, respect for the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, and national sovereignty are not in place,” referring to France. He accused the European country of supporting t*rrorism in the Sahel region, an accusation first made by Mali’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdoulaye Maïga in 2022.
Burkina Faso’s neighbour, Niger, has not, in practice, had a diplomatic relationship with France since the French embassy in Niamey closed in December 2023. Burkina Faso has had previous tensions with the French diplomatic presence in the country. On 2 January 2023, Burkina Faso declared the former French ambassador to the country, Luc Hallade, persona non grata, ordering his expulsion. However, Burkina Faso did accept the arrival of a new French ambassador to the country. Now that diplomatic ties between the two states have ended, the French embassy in the country will be forced to close.
Burkina Faso, like Mali and Niger, ended the French military occupation of its country. For Burkina Faso, the military relationship with France ended in February 2023. The three countries, united under the banner of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), also left the French-dominated soft-power organisation known as the Francophonie in March 2025.
