Niger’s military government has renamed streets and monuments that previously bore French names, marking another step in its efforts to sever ties with its former colonial ruler.
The capital’s main thoroughfare, formerly Avenue Charles de Gaulle, is now Avenue Djibo Bakary, in tribute to Niger’s first mayor and a key figure in the country’s fight for independence from France in 1960. Other streets and landmarks, including a war memorial, have also been renamed to honor victims of colonization.
“Many of our streets remind us of the suffering our people endured under colonization,” said junta spokesman Maj Col Abdramane Amadou during a ceremony marking the changes.
This move comes as Niger’s relations with France and other Western allies have soured following the 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. Since then, Niger has increasingly turned to Russia for military support, aligning itself with Mali and Burkina Faso to form the Alliance of Sahel States, as they combat jihadist insurgencies in the region.
Under the previous government, France had stationed over 1,500 troops in Niger to combat Islamist militants, but they were withdrawn by the end of 2023.
As part of its reappraisal of colonial history, Niger replaced the name of a French general and a colonial officer on significant monuments. The war memorial now honors all civilian and military victims of colonization, while a monument depicting French explorer Parfait-Louis Monteil has been replaced with a plaque of Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara.
Another notable change is the renaming of Niamey’s Place de La Francophonie, now called Place de l’Alliance des Etats du Sahel, reflecting the country’s alliance with its military-led neighbors.
