Hundreds demonstrated in the center of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, on Friday, chanting anti-France slogans, and holding banners calling for the French army to leave the country, and some demonstrators set French flags on fire or used them to collect rubbish.
According to Reuters, Friday's demonstrations represent the latest expression of growing anti-French sentiment in the West African country, which is suffering because of the rebellions.
Reuters quoted one of the protesters - Adama Sawadogo - "We want to show France that we no longer need it."
In turn, the French Press Agency says that the demonstrations took place at the invitation of the African Leaders Caucus (CLP), which brings together organizations supporting Ibrahim Traore, the officer who has been in power since the end of last September.
Relations between Burkina Faso and its former colony were strained following two military coups last year, partly caused by the authorities' failure to protect civilians from armed groups operating in the country's arid north.
Angry crowds
Reuters says that some of the tension stems from perceptions that the French military presence in Burkina Faso has not led to an improvement in security, knowing that angry crowds have previously targeted the French embassy and the French Cultural Center, in addition to a French military base in Burkina Faso.
And the authorities stopped broadcasting "Radio France International" in December due to reports that it said were false and that they gave voice to Islamist militants, and the government also requested earlier this month to replace the current French ambassador in Ouagadougou.
France has about 400 special forces soldiers in Burkina Faso, and it is announced that they are there to help local forces fight the Islamist insurgency that has spread across the African Sahel region from Mali over the past decade, according to Reuters, which indicated that relations between Paris and Bamako have deteriorated since the military coup. In August 2020, knowing that France announced in February 2022 the withdrawal of its forces from Mali.