Press Release from the Confédération Paysanne, our member organization in France.

Bagnolet, August 17, 2023

The Confédération Paysanne denounces the risk of military intervention in Niger and supports the populations and farmers of the Sahel.

The peasant, pastoral, and fishing communities that represent the vast majority of Niger’s population would be the first victims of the war.

We, peasants of the Confédération Paysanne, as a representative trade union organization, demand from the French government:

• Not to intervene militarily in Niger, neither directly nor through ECOWAS,
• To withdraw the French army from the country,
• To pay fair prices for the raw materials that have been imported from this country for decades.

We denounce the economic sanctions imposed on the Nigerien people, namely the closure of borders, suspension of commercial transactions, and freezing of assets at the Central Bank of West African States. We stand in solidarity with our fellow peasants and the people of Niger, understanding their anger and rejection of France’s colonial policy that they have been suffering for too long.

We ask our leaders to cease all political, economic, and military maneuvers in the Sahel. We demand an end to all interference and any arrogant and patronizing attitudes towards the populations of West Africa.

We assert, together with our allies from La Via Campesina, the sovereignty of peoples and the end of imperialisms. Food sovereignty, support for family farming, and the respect for peasant rights through the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) are key elements for building prosperity and peace.

Contact information: contact@confederationpaysanne.fr

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