Mali: France claims to have had a secondary role in hostage negotiations
Ex-French hostage Sophie Pétronin gets off her plane from Bamako after her release, at Villacoublay airport, October 9, 2020. GONZALO FUENTES / POOL / AFP
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3 min
Four days after the release of Sophie Pétronin, Soumaila Cissé and the two Italian hostages, gray areas remain numerous.
France, in any case, assures him: its role in this affair was only secondary.
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"
The operation was carried out by the Malians, the terms of the negotiations were not carried out by France
".
This is the message
conveyed by the Elysee Palace
, while the conditions for
the release of Sophie Pétronin
raise questions.
If the external services of the two countries have worked together, it is Bamako who has kept control in this file, explains the entourage of the head of state.
This ensures that Paris has paid no ransom.
“
The list of counterparts has not been discussed with us,
” adds the Elysee with reference to the
jihadists released by the Malian authorities
.
What reaction then to these releases?
"
There is a price for any release,
" loose an advisor, fatalistic.
The presidential palace also specifies that at no time has France intervened to promote an intermediary, contrary to what Mediapart said on Sunday.
The French site explained, in the same article, that Paris would have delayed the
release of Soumaïla Cissé
, by demanding that he be released at the same time as Sophie Pétronin.
"
False
", retorts the Elysee.
If the negotiations had started before the putsch, "
the terms of trade were not changed
" after the coup, we are assured.
The only development, according to the entourage of the French president: "
a notable acceleration
" of the new authorities on this hostage file.
The latter had, according to the Elysee "
the will
" to achieve "
an outcome
".
Emmanuel Macron called Bah N'Daw, the president of the Malian transition, on Friday to thank him for the release of Sophie Pétronin.
During this first telephone interview, the two men also discussed the operational and political aspects of the fight against terrorism.
Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, is due to travel to Bamako by the end of October to meet the new authorities of the country.
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