Over 1,000 supporters assembled in the main square of Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, to applaud Monday’s coup, with some blazing the French flag and several others dancing to live music.
The burning of the French flag is the newest indication of increasing dissatisfaction with the military presence of the former colonial power in the region.
France has troops stationed in Burkina Faso and many other African countries to assist in the fight against radical Islamists who have wreaked devastation in the region.
However, as analyst Paul Melly observed in a recent BBC report, its troop presence has been divisive.
The military seized power in Burkina Faso because President Roch Kaboré failed to unite the country and deal effectively with a security crisis that “threatens the fundamental foundations of our nation.”
Similar justifications were given by the military in neighbouring Mali when it seized control in May 2021, a coup that was widely applauded by the population despite international condemnation.
Some in the audience in Ouagadougou also chastised the West African regional group Ecowas for taking a harsh stance against coups.