7

As in all the ex-colonies in French Black Africa, the Niger moved into the world of modem politics at the end of the Second World War and its evolution was closely linked to the political debate throughout the French colonies. But it was the only overseas territory to move towards internai autonomy, as proposed under the framework law for institutional reform (or the Gaston Defferre law), which the parliamentary and governmental majority held by the Mouvement socialiste africain (MSA) advocated. In addition, it was the first territory where political issues in the new French Fifth Republic led to a “coup d’État,” known as the “Colombani operation” for the governor who intervened in political affairs in Niamey. This coup d’État led to the installation of a new governmental team more in tune with the French government’s political objectives, to whom independence, refused in 1958, will be granted 3 August 1960.