France is going to support any efforts, including military intervention, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will do to restore constitutional order in Niger, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.

“We support diplomacy and, if decided, its military activity ECOWAS,” Macron clarified, adding that Paris would not abandon its support for the legitimately elected president Mohamed Bazum.

The French leader called on Nigeriens not to be misled by the junta’s narrative that France is Niger’s enemy.

The problem for Niger’s population, according to what Emmanuel Macron said, is that the rebels are putting them at risk “by refusing to fight terrorism and moving away from beneficial economic policies”. This is why the country is “losing international funding that would help it get out of poverty,” he noted.

At the same time, Macron criticized the review coming from “Washington and other European capitals”, as well as the media, that France is overly supportive of President Bazum. “We cannot expect other African capitals to listen to us if we do not support a political leader when he is faced with this (coup d’etat),” he said.

The Economic Community of West African States announced last week that it is ready for military intervention in Niger with the aim of restoring constitutional order in the country.