Le Républicain is a French language

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 weekly newspaper in the Nigerien capital of Niamey

Niamey

-Population:While Niamey's population has grown steadily since independence, the droughts of the early 1970s and 1980s, along with the economic crisis of the early 1980s, have propelled an exodus of rural inhabitants to Niger's largest city...

. The newspaper is published every Thursday, and run from offices at the Place du Petit Marché, Niamey. Le Républicain was founded in 1991, with the relaxing of media laws, by Maman Abou, a computer technician and political organiser. The newspaper is independent of the government, and is often highly critical of current President of Niger Tandja Mamadou

Tandja Mamadou

Lieutenant Colonel Mamadou Tandja is a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement of the Development Society from 1991 to 1999 and unsuccessfully ran as the MNSD's presidential candidate in 1993 and 1996 before being elected to his...

. The newspaper continues to be owned and operated by Maman Abou, who also owns Niger's largest independent publishing house.