On Tuesday, on our airwaves, Prime Minister Choguel Maïga went further, accusing Joël Meyer for the first time of "engaging in subversive activities" and of having "prepared a plan to overthrow the government." What do these serious accusations refer to? The Malian Prime Minister provided no details on the "plan" that France's ambassador allegedly "prepared" to overthrow his government. Despite RFI's requests for clarification.

"Secret meetings"

But a close associate of Choguel Maïga claims that Joël Meyer was conducting "secret meetings" with opponents and that he was especially "in collusion with Malian military officers" to "overthrow the government". "There have been arrests", "we have evidence", assures this source, who explains being unable to specify the identity of the arrested persons, nor present the evidence in question because "an investigation is ongoing".

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On the French side, a diplomatic source refutes these accusations described as an "invention" intended to fuel "a policy of rupture with France and the West". While this source acknowledges that politicians and civil society members not sharing the government line were indeed invited to the embassy, it assures that these meetings are part of "normal" diplomatic activity. "Before becoming Prime Minister, Choguel Maïga was himself in the opposition," this source recalls, and he was received at the embassy."

"Not persona non grata"

And to clarify that during the ambassador's summons by Foreign Affairs Minister Abdoulaye Diop, on the day his expulsion was announced, this supposed plan would not have been mentioned at any point. Subsequently, on RFI, Abdoulaye Diop even stated that Joël Meyer was "not persona non grata" in Mali and that he could return there as soon as France had clarified its position on the legitimacy of Mali's transition authorities. Which does not appear, in any case, to be on the agenda.

Last October, it was the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) ambassador to Mali, Hamidou Boly, who had been expelled for "actions incompatible with his status". At the time, already, the Burkinabe diplomat had been criticized for meetings with opposition parties, civil society, or the press conducting "activities hostile to the transition", according to terms used by Mali's chief diplomat Abdoulaye Diop.

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