French authorities fear further violence

French authorities are worried that another wave of “great violence” and rioting will be unleashed in Paris this weekend by a hard core of several thousand yellow vest protesters, an official in the French presidency said.

The EU and France say their total investment in development funding aimed at preventing terrorism in the Sahel will rise to €1.3bn, as the region struggles with jihadism and lawlessness.

The five Sahel states — Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Niger — have been struggling against extremism and lawlessness along the Sahara’s southern rim since a Tuareg separatist uprising in northern Mali in 2012.

The EU’s international cooperation and development commissioner, Neven Mimica, told a conference in the Mauritanian capital that the bloc’s Sahel Priority Investment Programme “now totals almost €800m”, with an additional €122m announced on Thursday.

France will invest €500m in the “priorities” of the G5 Sahel, said French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. It will add €220m to €280m pledged.

“Half of this sum is for projects already planned or under way. The other half will be awarded in a speedy way over the next two years to enable you to meet your priorities,” he said.

The five Sahel countries told the meeting they need €1.9bn to help them fund projects in border regions vulnerable to jihadists. They provide 13%.

The governments hope that with an array of projects, including building schools, health centres and improving access to water, they can prevent communities from falling under the influence of extremists.

Jihadism in the region has been fuelled by the chaos that engulfed Libya in 2011, the Islamist takeover of northern Mali in 2012 and the rise of Boko Haram in northern Nigeria.

The extremists were largely driven out of Mali in a Frenchled military operation launched in January 2013.

The France-backed fledgeling African regional force fighting jihadists is suffering from a lack of funding, and shortfalls in equipment and training have led to delays in its operations. /