Four French soldiers arrested in the Central African Republic

The situation is extremely tense for France in the Central African Republic.

Four French soldiers who were escorting a general from the UN force were arrested Monday afternoon at Bangui airport, the French embassy in the Central African capital tweeted.

The four men were still in detention in the evening, confirmed a local diplomatic source on condition of anonymity.

“The close protection team of General (Stéphane) Marchenoir, Chief of Staff of the Minusca Force (United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic), made up of four French soldiers, was arrested this afternoon at the Bangui airport," the embassy said.

A struggle for influence between Paris and Moscow

At the origin of these arrests, many private accounts were spreading on social networks in the evening in accusations against the French soldiers accusing them in particular of having wanted to "assassinate" the Central African President Faustin Archange Touadéra, with photos of their presumed vehicle and weapons "seized" during their arrest.

This incident comes at a time when relations between France and its former colony are increasingly tense, exacerbated by a fierce struggle for influence between Paris and Moscow, in this country in civil war since 2013. France blames the Central African Republic of being "accomplice" of an anti-French campaign orchestrated by Moscow on social networks and certain media, and accuses the Russian private security company Wagner of having seized the country's power and resources.

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