[Atlantic Council] On Thursday, August 3, a day that marks Niger's independence from France in 1960, hundreds of Nigeriens gathered in Independence Square in Niamey to voice their support for the ongoing coup. Over the past week, Africans and their Western partners have seemed surprised by the events in Niger. Many in France are shocked, having not seen it coming. The country is evacuating its nationals just days after Catherine Colonna, the French minister of Europe and foreign affairs, said the evacuation wouldn't happen a
