Following last week’s military coup, pro-junta demonstrations took place outside the French Embassy in Niamey. The French government declared on Sunday that any attack on French persons or interests in Niger would result in a forceful instant response from France.

In a statement, the office of President Emmanuel Macron stated that it will respond to assaults on French diplomats, military personnel, or commercial entities. “The President (Emmanuel Macron) will not tolerate any attack against France and its interests,” the statement added.

Macron has spoken with ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and former president of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou in the last few hours, the statement said, adding that both of them condemned the coup and called for calm.

France announced on Saturday it was cutting all development aid to Niger and called for the return of Bazoum. Niger has been a security partner of former colonial power France, and the United States, which have used it as a base to fight an Islamist insurgency in West and Central Africa’s wider Sahel region.