The greatest impact of the military coup in Gabon will be on the African country’s ties with its former colonial power, France, as well as French economic and military interests in the wider region, according to analysts, Anadolu Agency reports.

Military leaders in Gabon seized power hours after the controversial re-election of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who officially secured a third term in the disputed 26 August elections that observers have said were marred by irregularities.

The nation awoke on Thursday to a new military leader, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, the former head of the elite republican guard unit.

The Bongo family, which ruled the oil-rich Central African nation for more than 50 years, had extremely close ties with France, a relationship that played a significant role in shaping Gabon’s political landscape, said Buchanan Ismael, a political scientist at the University of Rwanda.

“The relationship between Gabon and France is marked by close cooperation. Under Ali Bongo’s presidency, Gabon has been one of France’s closet allies in Africa and, through the years, Bongo became known as a loyal supporter of French policies,” Ismael told Anadolu.

That relationship has sparked allegations of French interference in Gabonese affairs, he said.

Ismael said the Gabon coup has come at a time when anti-France sentiments have been rising in the country and the entire region.

After the recent events in Niger and other countries, the current situation “is going to be more dangerous for France’s economy and military interests in Gabon and the region,” he warned.

“Gabon is a member of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States). You know what happened in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea, so for sure if there are any kind of anti-France protests, French companies, especially in the mining sector, will pull out,” Ismael explained.