By Sybille de La Hamaide and Richard Lough
PARIS (Reuters) -&nbsp;France&nbsp;will&nbsp;pull&nbsp;its soldiers&nbsp;out&nbsp;of&nbsp;Niger&nbsp;following&nbsp;a July&nbsp;coup&nbsp;in the West African country, President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, dealing a huge blow to French influence and counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel region.
Macron said 1,500&nbsp;troops&nbsp;would withdraw by the end of the year and that&nbsp;France, the former colonial power in&nbsp;Niger, refused to "be held hostage by the putchists".
France's exit, which comes after weeks of pressure from the junta and popular demonstrations, is likely to exacerbate Western concerns over Russia's expanding influence in Africa. The Russian mercenary force Wagner already present in&nbsp;Niger's neighbour Mali.
The French president has refused to recognise the junta as&nbsp;Niger's legitimate authority but said Paris would coordinate troop withdraw with the&nbsp;coup&nbsp;leaders.
"We will consult with the putschists because we want things to be orderly," Macron said in an interview with&nbsp;France's TF1 and&nbsp;France&nbsp;2 television stations.
France's ambassador was also being&nbsp;pulled&nbsp;out&nbsp;and would return to the country in the next few hours, Macron added.
French influence over its former colonies has waned in West Africa in recent years, just as popular vitriol has grown. Its forces have been kicked&nbsp;out&nbsp;of neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso since&nbsp;coups in those countries, reducing its role in a region-wide fight against deadly Islamist insurgencies.
Until the&nbsp;coup,&nbsp;Niger&nbsp;had remained a key security partner of&nbsp;France&nbsp;and the United States, which have used it as a base to fight an Islamist insurgency in West and Central Africa's wider Sahel region.
RUSSIA'S EXPANDING PRESENCE
France's military base in&nbsp;Niger's capital, Niamey, had become the epicentre of anti-French protests since the July 26&nbsp;coup.
Groups have regularly gathered on the street&nbsp;outside to call for the exit of&nbsp;troops&nbsp;stationed in the capital. On one Saturday this month, tens of thousands rallied against&nbsp;France, slitting the throat of a goat dressed in French colours and carrying coffins draped in French flags.
Pro-coup&nbsp;demonstrators in Niamey have waved Russian flags, adding to Western countries' fears that&nbsp;Niger&nbsp;could follow Mali's lead and replace their&nbsp;troops&nbsp;with Wagner fighters.
Before his death in a plane crash last month, Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin spoke in a social media clip of making Russia greater on all continents and Africa more free. Wagner's future has been unclear since his demise.
Wagner is also active in Central African Republic and Libya. Western nations say it is also present in Sudan, though it denies this. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a return to constitutional order in&nbsp;Niger.
French nuclear power plants source a small amount - less than 10% - of their uranium from&nbsp;Niger, with&nbsp;France's state-owned Orano operating a mine in&nbsp;Niger's north.
Macron said he still regarded democratically elected President Mohammed Bazoum, currently held prisoner by the&nbsp;coup&nbsp;leaders, as&nbsp;Niger's legitimate leader and had informed him of his decision.
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(Reporting by Sybille de la Hamaide, Richard Lough and Michel Rose; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Bill Berkrot)

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France to pull troops out of Niger following coup