At 7 p.m. sharp, the evening program is on the state television channel Télé Sahel.
Suddenly pathetic music sounds and the heads of state of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali can be seen.
The three countries have something in common: they are led by military governments that seized power in a coup.
Télé Sahel shows photos of the new rulers in uniform, shaking hands with Vladimir Putin.
“A new era of cooperation” is written in large letters underneath.
The three countries have founded a new community of states, the “Alliance of the Sahel States”.
And Russia is obviously intended to become a close partner; Russian uniformed soldiers or mercenaries are already on site in Burkina-Faso and Mali;
Niger has announced that it wants to significantly expand military cooperation.
It's a drastic turnaround.
Until the coup in July 2023, Niger was Europe's closest partner in the Sahel region.
The country stopped migrants on their way to the Mediterranean on behalf of Brussels and hosted French troops who conducted their fight against jihadist terrorists from here.
In short: Niger was of central strategic importance for the West.
But that is over now.
Signs of the devastation can still be seen at the entrance to the French embassy in Niamey.
Angry protesters attacked them immediately after the coup.
Some in the crowd waved Russian flags.
“The last employee left at a run,” says a police officer who is now guarding the empty building.
He grins and is visibly satisfied with this development.
The embassy is still closed.
The French soldiers have withdrawn from the country.
The hatred of France is no coincidence: Even after Niger's independence in 1960, Paris acted as a kind of natural protective power, exploiting the country's uranium deposits without the local population benefiting from it.
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world.
The concept of Françafrique, France's influence on the African continent, is at an end.
It is a diplomatic disaster for Paris, the magnitude of which can hardly be overestimated.
Aboubakar Diallo sits in the shade of his backyard in the capital Niamey, a large metal gate shielding him from the noise of the street.
Diallo has already experienced a lot in his homeland; he has often negotiated with jihadists on behalf of the government in order to make peace.
The 48-year-old believes that the expulsion of French troops was a mistake that could further worsen insecurity in the country.
»People reject France because the French government has interfered in our country's politics, in our economy.
This was a big mistake by Paris.
But bringing in the Russians now doesn't make anything better," he says.
In any case, Emmanuel Macron has so far reacted defiantly.
No contact with the junta in Niger, no negotiations – that was the strict line after the coup.
The rest of Europe followed initially, also in the absence of its own strategy in the Sahel region.
But if you talk to diplomats in Niamey, there are slowly signs of a change in thinking.
Some countries want to get closer again, contrary to France's wishes.
The EU has now also decided to pursue a “transactional strategy,” as stated in the resolution of the last Foreign Council meeting in Brussels.
That means: talks with the junta are possible again.
In any case, the military government in Niger has an effective lever: Europe's fear of migrants.
Agadez, in the east of the country, was once a hub for people from sub-Saharan Africa heading north.
Then the former government under Mohamed Bazoum shut down on behalf of Brussels and received more than a billion euros in aid in return.
Law 2015-36 was enacted, making the transport of migrants a criminal offense.
This deal was never popular in the country; after all, it cost many people their livelihoods.
The EU promised to make up for the losses, but little has happened.
The new junta immediately abolished the law.
The number of migrants traveling through Niger, often on their way to Europe, is now increasing again - and with it the pulse in Brussels.
The new ruler, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, knows where the Europeans' sore points lie and uses them effectively.
Erdoğan and other autocrats serve as role models.
In the end, it worked for them: Europe sent a lot of money to keep the migrants away, and sometimes turned a blind eye to human rights violations.
The military government's strategy appears to be working.
Brussels and the EU member states have great interest in talking to the junta.
The German Defense Minister even traveled to Niamey in December to negotiate the future of the Bundeswehr air transport base at the capital's airport.
But the government in Niamey is not exactly making it easy for Europe to continue this course of detente: it is acting almost erratically.
The EU training mission Eucap Sahel, which has been training police officers in Niger for twelve years in the fight against organized crime and in border protection, has also felt this.
In mid-February, Nigerien security forces suddenly moved into the Eucap headquarters, searched every single room for hours, and even confiscated the service weapons.
You can hardly offend a former partner more strongly.
But even in the face of such an affront, it took Brussels a few days to condemn the incident - the diplomats have their backs to the wall.
The West African community of states Ecowas is also embarrassed.
After the coup, it even threatened military intervention in the member state, imposed harsh sanctions and closed the borders.
But the measures had the opposite effect in Niger: the population showed solidarity with the junta, and the mood turned even more against the supposedly pro-Western Ecowa alliance.
The sanctions have now been lifted.
The junta is successfully driving its opponents ahead of it.
If you talk to residents in Niamey, there is a lot of understanding for the new rulers.
There is deep resentment against the previous government and the unfavorable deals it concluded with the West.
In any case, Maikoul Zodi has big ideas for his country.
He heads the “Patriotic Front for Independence,” a junta-affiliated network of civil society organizations.
It sees itself as a kind of think tank for a new Niger among the military.
Zodi delivers one snappy quote after another, sometimes getting loud, especially when it comes to France.
"We were colonized before the coup," he chants, "the army saved us from the yoke of French imperialism." It is not a radical individual opinion.
They now want to do “tabula rasa,” says Zodi.
This means that cooperation with previous partners must be completely renegotiated.
The Germans are at least better than the French, says the activist: "They respect the sovereignty of our country."
This is an opportunity for the Federal Republic: it should hold talks with the junta and develop its own strategy for the Sahel region.
We can learn from the disastrous failures of the past: African states have long since developed a strong awareness of the injustices of the colonial era and their consequences - and a new self-confidence.
In the future, deals should be concluded on an equal footing.
The fact that Russia can present itself as the new hero in Africa is not only due to disinformation and propaganda - but also to Europe's mistakes.
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