Arrest of Yann Vezilier, accused of trying to destabilise Mali, marks new low in relations between Paris and Bamako.
France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has said that a French man recently arrested in Mali on “unfounded” charges of plotting a coup was a French embassy employee.
The Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that it was in talks with Bamako to “clear up any misunderstanding” and obtain the “immediate release” of Yann Vezilier, who had been arrested in recent weeks alongside two generals and other military personnel.
It added that the arrest of the French national was in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Mali’s security minister, General Daoud Aly Mohammedine, had announced Vezilier’s arrest on Thursday, alleging that he had been working for the French intelligence services, mobilising “political leaders, civil society actors, and military personnel” to destabilise the country.
Mohammedine said that a full investigation into the alleged plot, which he said had been launched on August 1, was under way and that “the situation is completely under control”.
The arrests followed a crackdown on dissent following a pro-democracy rally in May, the first since the military government came to power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.
France’s once close relationship with its former colony in West Africa’s Sahel region has soured since soldiers seized power nearly four years ago.
The military government, led by President Assimi Goita, has turned away from Western partners, notably former colonial power France, expelling its troops and turning to Russia for security assistance.
The country has since been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence from groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group, as well as local criminal gangs.
In June, Goita was granted an additional five years in power, despite the military government’s earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024. The move followed the military’s dissolution of political parties in May.