[4] In January 2023, Burkina Faso's military junta asked France to recall its ambassador amid a surge of anti-French sentiment as the country moved to develop closer ties to Russia.

[7][8] Since 1983, relations between Thomas Sankara and France had been strained due to his anti-imperialist stance, which challenged French influence in Upper Volta.

Burkina Faso also issued an arrest warrant for Blaise Compaore in 2015, accusing him of involvement in Sankara's killing.

[12] The government of Burkina Faso, which came to power in a coup in September 2022, had shown its willingness to diversify its partnerships, particularly in the fight against jihadism, which has been raging in the country since 2015.

[14] In December 2023, four French agents of the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) were arrested in Ouagadougou by Ibrahim Traoré's junta.

[15] In 2022, France exported $384M worth of goods to Burkina Faso, including wheat, medicines and refined petroleum.

Decentralized cooperation is robust, with 130 partnerships and €9 million in aid from French local authorities in 2017 (the 3rd largest recipient in the world).