Tensions between the two countries have reached a peak. Burkina Faso’s military regime has announced that, with effect from Friday 26 June, it is “severing” diplomatic relations with France, which it accuses of “relentless activism” against its interests, following several years of severe tensions between the two countries. The junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, which has been in power since a coup in September 2022, pursues a policy of sovereignty, cracking down on any critical voices and taking a hostile stance towards the West, particularly France, the former colonial power. For its part, Paris has said it “regrets” this “hostile and unfounded decision”.

“The government of Burkina Faso hereby informs the national and international public that it has taken the decision to sever diplomatic relations with the French Republic with effect from today, 26 June 2026,” it stated in a communiqué read out on national television.

Burkina Faso’s military regime had already decided, in May, to ban the broadcast of the French television channel TV5 Monde, which it accused of “disinformation” and “glorifying terrorism”.