After the coup d'etat on Friday, angry protestors attacked the French embassy in the Burkinabe capital of Ouagadougou on Saturday while yelling anti-French chants.Their protests were in support of Ibrahim Traore, the country's new military ruler, who deposed Lt Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the previous interim president.
Since Damiba's whereabouts were unknown during the protest, Traore accused France of harbouring him.
The violence has been denounced and no involvement has been claimed by French authorities.
In a statement in response to the demonstration, France reportedly stated that, in light of the military coup, the security of its citizens was its top priority.
“We don’t want France anymore. We no longer want France to be in Africa. “Down with France,” protesters chanted.
Some added: “We call on Russia and suggested Russian intervention was preferable to any involvement by their former colonisers.”
One demonstrator said: “We want frank cooperation with Russia. That’s why we hold the three flags. The Russian, Malian and Burkinabe flags.”
Another explained: “Damiba has failed and the people are not happy. And we are indeed going out today to show the whole world that we do not want this man anymore.
“At the moment, we have very seasoned soldiers who have taken power and we will support them until terrorism is driven out of our country.”
Damiba had promised to challenge jihadist violence but critics accused him of being too close to France which maintains a military presence in the region.
French spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre condemned the violence against the embassy and said the protests were “the work of hostile demonstrators, manipulated by a campaign of disinformation against us.”
She added: “Our nationals have been instructed to exercise the utmost vigilance and to remain at home.”