France has decided to suspend "until further notice all development aid and budgetary support" to Burkina Faso, the French Foreign Ministry said on Sunday evening.

The announcement comes at a time when Burkina Faso and Mali have expressed solidarity with the military who have taken power in Niger.

France is supporting the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in their efforts to reinstate ousted Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been imprisoned since the July 26 coup d'état.

ECOWAS states threatened military intervention and gave the military a deadline, which expired this Sunday, to restore constitutional order.

Current French development aid projects for Burkina Faso total 482 million euros, while the budget aid planned for 2022 amounts to 13 million euros.

Relations between France and Burkina Faso have deteriorated since Captain Ibrahim Traoré seized power in a coup d'état in September 2022. (Text Notícia ao Minuto/Lusa)