Niger Junta Renames Streets, Monuments, Cutting Colonial Ties With France

Niger’s military government has renamed streets and monuments that once bore French names, marking a symbolic break from the country’s colonial past.

Avenue Charles de Gaulle in the capital, Niamey, has been renamed Avenue Djibo Bakary, honoring a key figure in Niger’s independence movement.

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Junta spokesman Maj Col Abdramane Amadou explained the decision, stating that “most of the avenues, boulevards, and streets bear names that are reminders of the suffering and oppression of the people endured during colonization.”

According to the Junta government, the move is part of broader efforts by Niger’s military leaders to distance the nation from its former colonial power, France, following the coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

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Like neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger has sought closer ties with Russia for military support as jihadist threats grow in the region.

A ceremony in Niamey also marked the renaming of a French war memorial, now dedicated to all civilian and military victims of colonization.

This comes after the complete withdrawal of French troops, who had been stationed in Niger to help combat jihadist groups.