If you go online to research countries with the biggest nuclear powers, one of the countries that would pop out after the USA is France. They would tell you that France is the leading nuclear power in Europe, its nuclear energy sector is the third-largest industrial sector and nuclear power brings in an excess of 6 billion dollars annually. These articles would also say that this sector is responsible for providing electricity for the whole of France and has made France the biggest exporter of electricity. In addition, they would say that nuclear power is a source of pride for France, and all these achievements were possible because of the cumulative years of research that stretch back to the discovery of polonium and radium by Marie Skłodowska Curie and Pierre Curie in Paris in the late 1890s. Well, they are very correct. But, what few people talk about is the fact that France could only achieve all this with the aid of a very important natural element that they do not possess, Uranium. Yes, they had the technology but the only reason why they decided to go into the nuclear power industry fully was because Uranium had been discovered in a former colony which meant they had easy access to the uranium. So, which former colony is that and how is the relationship between France and this former colony? Let’s find out in this video.

France’s nuclear power infrastructure was born out of the French government’s efforts in the 1950s and 1960s to develop a nuclear bomb during the Cold War, and so a lot of resources were poured into nuclear research. Now, at the end of World War 2, a country’s global status was determined not by its colonial empire but by the size of its nuclear arsenal and France didn’t want to be left behind. But, it wouldn’t be because, before this time in 1954, a French geological survey had discovered Uranium in one of its former colonies, Niger. So, after Niger gained independence, negotiations between Niger and France began. Now, recall that before Niger was granted independence by the reluctant French colonial elites who wanted to keep their hold on their African colonies, Niger together with other fourteen African countries had signed a colonial pact with France. This colonial pact ensured that in exchange for Independence, African financial decisions were made with French interests at heart and that postcolonial Francophone markets were reserved for French companies and traders. Also, it ensured that France had easy access to its former colonies’ natural resources of which uranium was part.

With this colonial pact, France had a monopoly over the uranium offered in Niger through French-owned company, Areva. So, it was very easy for France to decide to turn to nuclear power after the 1970s oil price shock, after all they had somewhere they could get uranium at a ridiculously cheap cost. In 1974, Prime Minister Pierre Messmer even expressed a desire that all of France’s electricity should come from nuclear power, although that didn’t happen till the 1980s and 1990s which saw a rapid expansion of nuclear power capacity in France with 56 reactors built in just 15 years. And, so began France’s rise in the nuclear power industry in Europe.

What we want to focus on in this video, however, is how Niger has fared as France rose to greater heights in the Nuclear Power Industry. Now, as we said, Niger gained Independence in 1960 but one of the conditions for that Independence was a colonial pact also called a Defence treaty that gave France access to strategic materials deemed necessary for France’s economic and political security. These materials included the Uranium which had been discovered in 1957. Having no choice, Niger had to sign the treaty in 1961. But then, France still had to negotiate with Niger on setting up uranium mines in the country because Niger was technically an independent country. According to France’s initial plan for the distribution of profits made from the mines, Niger got only a small percentage. However, the first president of Niger, Hamani Diori, protested and France reluctantly changed the deal. So, in exchange if setting up the mines, Niger would receive a larger percentage of profits from the mines, a special development aid package and a promise to send French troops as needed to defend the deposits against Algerian incursions.”

At first, President Diori accepted the improved deal but after a visit to the United States in 1960, he discovered that uranium was more than just another resource and that he could drive an even harder bargain with the French. Diori set about pushing for further concessions from France and a significant stake in the mining companies Somaïr and Cominak. He also requested the establishment of a new special investment fund. To some extent, France conceded but get this, throughout all these years till the early 1970s, France didn’t pay a penny of royalties to the Nigerian government. All those deals granted to Niger were measly compared to the level of compensation granted to French farmers whose land was commandeered to build French nuclear plants. During the 1973 global crisis, Dior saw an opportunity to push for better deals with France because the crisis pushed France to expand its nuclear power capacity. Unfortunately, Diori pushed too hard because, in 1974, France decided not to intervene as Diori was ousted in a coup d’etat led by Lieutenant Colonel Seyni Kountché. The death of Diori was the start of low-uranium deals with the French. As recently as 2014, Niger was receiving half the sum in uranium royalties compared to the sums paid to the Canadian and Australian governments for their uranium reserves. This means that the only reason France is getting its 6 billion dollars annually is because it is defrauding Niger. Imagine if France was getting most of its uranium from Canada or Australia, it certainly won’t be the leading nuclear power in Europe because of the high cost.

However, the reality is that, since the discovery of uranium in Niger, a major chunk of the ore has been exclusively exported to France for over 40 years by Areva, the state-owned nuclear power company of France. Surprisingly, in return, uranium mining in Niger only contributes around 5 per cent to the national Gross Domestic Product. Meanwhile over 50 percent of the uranium ore extracted from Niger is used for fuelling French nuclear power plants — this is where a third of all uranium for France’s reactors comes from. What this means is that three out of four light bulbs in France are illuminated through Nigerien uranium. Yet, in Niger, only 10 to 20 percent of people in the urban areas have access to electricity, while only 2 to 3 percent do in the rural areas. This country which is supplying a means to power France is forced to import electricity from its neighbouring country, Nigeria. Isn’t that ridiculous?

In February 2013, Président Mahamadou Issoufou, a former Areva employee, claimed that Niger’s uranium deals generate just 100 million Euros that’s about $140 million a year, representing just 5% of Niger’s budget. ” The President then asked to re-equilibrate the terms of the deal between Areva and Niger but guess what? All those negotiations with the French company yielded little or no difference because France held all the cards given its controlling stakes in the country’s three other mines. And even though President Issoufou talked about diversifying Niger’s uranium partners, that wasn’t possible because the colonial pact ensured that the Nigerien uranium market was saturated with French investors, leaving little space for other investors. And without other prominent competitors, Niger’s position in negotiations with France is severely weakened. They have no choice but to accept the measly royalties granted by France because they need the revenue.

Undoubtedly, the partnership between the government of Niger and France is unequal. The Uranium market is supposed to be a big industry for Niger but since French companies are not paying their fair share of profits obtained from the uranium, Niger is not benefiting much because they are not getting good revenue, and the damage to society and the environment is also very huge.” According to Anne Sophie Simpere, Advocacy Officer of Oxfam France, It is incomprehensible that Niger, the world’s fourth-largest uranium producer and a strategic supplier for France, is not taking advantage of the revenue from this extraction. But how can they, when France with its neocolonialist tendency has the upper hand in the arrangement?

Now aside from the fact that Niger has been defrauded by France, the exploitation of uranium mines for more than forty years by France has resulted in a severe environmental crisis in the areas where the mines are located. In the mining cities of Arlit and Akokan, researchers have found increased amounts of radioactivity and cancer rates as a result of radioactive tailing and dust. It is estimated that nearly 45-million tonnes of radioactive tailings have been accumulated over the years. The tailing generated by mining contains harmful particulars and emit radon — enough to pollute the local ecosystem for generations. To make the situation worse, the tailings dump is located close to farmlands, thereby poisoning the food consumed by local communities. For French company Areva, polluting Niger is cheaper than polluting France. This pollution has led to several cases of ex-workers in Areva company and the locals living in the surrounding areas succumbing to unknown diseases and eventually death.

But guess what, Areva has always denied that their mining operations are the cause of such deaths. According to them, in 40 years of operations, not even a single case has been diagnosed involving a work-related illness. Areva maintains that the diseases occurring in local populations are not the result of mining activities but are rather typical of desert climates. But, research conducted by Greenpeace in 2014 proves otherwise. Based on the research, it was revealed that radon, a radioactive gas, was present in the water, air and soil. Regrettably, this poisoned water is still being distributed to the population and the workers for consumption.”

Meanwhile, far away from Niger, over 3000 kilometers away, people live a sumptuous life in cities of France. Owing to its nuclear power status, France enjoys the stature of being a superpower across the globe. Well, this situation is about to change with the current state of things between France and Niger following the recent coup in 2023. The relationship between Niger and France deteriorated after the military took over and refused to hand power back to Niger’s former President, Mohammed Bazoom whom everyone knew was a French ally. Even though French companies are still in Niger, soon enough, the military junta who has proved he is no friend of the French will start pushing for better deals for Niger. And, unlike previous times when France had the upper hand because of the colonial pact, Niger is currently in a better position to negotiate. Niger has diversified its partners, moving away from France so France no longer has that monopoly it has over the uranium mines. Also, Niger has canceled the defence treaty it signed with France which is also a big advantage. Right now, it is up to the Niger government to get better deals for its people because things have changed.

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