Niger coup: why do so many want France out and Russia in?

On 26 July, a group of soldiers removed Niger's democratically elected president from power, citing security concerns and economic mismanagement, a move that was quickly accepted by the country's armed forces. In the pro-coup demonstrations that followed, crowds waved Russian flags and chanted slogans against France, the country's former coloniser. The anti-French – and more widely anti-foreign – sentiment has rapidly become a key element of how the coup is being framed, as the junta faces the threat of military intervention by Ecowas, the west African regional bloc. The journalist Garé Amadou explains what is behind the flags and the anti-French sentiment.