Burkina Faso has removed French as an official language

Burkina Faso has removed French as an official language. The country has adopted local languages as official languages.

Mali did the same thing in June 2023. In the space of less than a year, in 2022 Burkina Faso experienced two coups d’état: after the forceful action of January 23rd, with which a group of soldiers deposed President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, on September 30th a commando led by the current leader of the transition Ibrahim Traore he regained power. The military has gradually rejected Paris’ influence, ordering the withdrawal of French forces in the country and moving closer to Russia. The junta broke defense and security agreements with France and denounced French double taxation agreements.

The report of the Council of Ministers specifies that this bill “is part of the realization of one of the main missions of the transition which consists of initiating political, administrative and institutional reforms to strengthen the culture democratically and consolidate the rule of law.

Among the “major innovations” of this new text is “the establishment of national languages ​​as official languages ​​in place of French which becomes the working language”.

Earlier this year, Mali, governed like Burkina by the military and which also maintains terrible relations with France, had modified its Constitution by referendum and reserved the same fate for the French.

This bill, which must still be voted on by the Transitional Legislative Assembly, also provides for “the establishment of traditional and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms”.