France has suspended counterterrorism cooperation with Mali and ordered two staff members of the Malian embassy and consulate to leave.
The French foreign ministry announced on Friday that the decision followed the arrest in August of a French national in Mali, who authorities there accused of involvement in a plot to destabilise the country.
The man, arrested alongside two Malian generals, was described by a foreign official as a former French military officer working on terrorism issues. A source familiar with the matter identified him as an intelligence agent.
The French foreign ministry declined to confirm whether he was an intelligence officer but maintained its earlier position that the detainee was a member of the French embassy in Bamako and that Mali’s accusations were “unfounded.”
In response to the arrest, Paris declared two staff members of Mali’s embassy and consulate in France persona non grata. Bamako retaliated by expelling five French diplomats.
A spokesperson for Mali’s foreign ministry declined to comment.
Relations between France and Mali have deteriorated sharply since the 2020 and 2021 coups that brought a military-led government to power in Bamako. The junta has severed military ties with Paris and turned to Russia for security support against Islamist insurgents active in the north of the country.
