Four French detained in Burkina Faso freed: spy agency

Four French nationals held in Burkina Faso for over a year on espionage accusations have been released, France’s foreign intelligence service said Thursday, with Paris thanking Morocco for its mediation in the case.

The Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) told AFP that the four had been freed, confirming reports in the Moroccan media. It give not give further details.

On Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI “to thank him warmly for the successful mediation that made possible the release of our four compatriots,” the Elysee said.

The four men were arrested in the Burkina Faso’s capital of Ouagadougou on December 1, 2023 and presented by the authorities as DGSE agents.

A French diplomatic source had then indicated that they were four civil servants, holders of diplomatic passports and visas, but rejected “the accusations that these technicians were sent to Burkina Faso for reasons other than their computer maintenance work”.

But since then, the French authorities remained discreet over the case.

Relations between France and Burkina have deteriorated considerably since Ibrahim Traore came to power in September 2022 through a coup d’etat.

Similar coups have seen France lose sway in a region where it was once the colonial power with the ousting of governments in Mali in 2021 and then Niger in 2023.

The mediation by the king of Morocco comes at a time when Paris and Rabat are warming relations that have been cool in the post, helped by Macron’s state visit at the end of October.

Macron notably delighted his Moroccan hosts by renewing French support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is de facto controlled for the most part by Morocco.

But it is claimed by the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, who are demanding a self-determination referendum and are supported by Algiers. Macron’s stance, while gladdening Morocco, has led to a further straining of already tense ties between France and Algeria.