Is the Spate of African Coups Affecting the French Economy?

On 8 September 2025, French lawmakers voted on a confidence vote called by the embattled prime minister, Francois Bayrou. Bayrou called the confidence vote due to his inability to pass an austerity budget which he argued was necessary to prevent an ‘existential’ economic threat facing the country. He argued that France needed to address its 2.4 trillion-euro liabilities arising from an unsustainable level of debt.

Since 2021, France has witnessed a decline in economic growth. While the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was 6.8 per cent in 2021, it declined to 2.57 per cent in 2022 and then 0.94 per cent in 2023. Although the trend is similar to other European countries—primarily due to the war in Ukraine—the rising level of debt makes the situation in France more precarious. A key question is whether France’s ailing economy has any connection to the recent spate of coups and subsequent loss of key long-term allies in Francophone Africa.

Since 2022, five military coups have occurred in Francophone Africa: two in Burkina Faso (January and September 2022), one in Niger (July 2023), and one in Gabon (August 2023)—in addition to the coup in Mali in May 2021. The coups have resulted in some of these countries severing economic and military ties from France. Notable ones are Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, who ended their long cordial relationship with France and are cozying up to Russia instead.