West African states have gone quiet on their initial threat to intervene. So what's next for Niger, its people and its president, still under house arrest after being toppled in a putsch that seems more about vested interests than national security?
What about the United States, which also has troops stationed there as part of anti-terror efforts in the wider Sahel region?
For France, this is surely a moment of reckoning. Its first president born after former colonies gained their independence has had to grapple with a growing hostility on the continent, much more than other former colonial powers Britain and Portugal.
Why? Is it justified? What’s the remedy? Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz. Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Take international news everywhere with you!