The competition in international politics between Italy and France is always alive. Libya, the enlarged Mediterranean but also Niger. Right there Italy after the agreements of the "Quirinale" and the approval of the Parliament decided to establish a control base on the border between Niger and Chad. In Ghat, southwest of Libya, the idea was to place a military / police command to train Libyan border guards to control the border with Niger, Algeria and Chad. Portions of territory from where the most nefarious illicit trafficking, ranging from drugs, weapons and human beings, passes. About 500 men with vehicles and other logistical arrangements are already in the area of interest, we are talking about border police and soldiers of the Joint Operational Command of the Ministry of Defense. The mission was partly financed with European Union funds, following the signing of military cooperation agreements with Niger in 2017. Agreements which also provide for the opening of the Italian embassy on 4 last January and the collaboration agreement in the Sahel. The real problem, as reported by Il Fatto Quotidiano, is the interference of Nigerians. The way in which Niamey's government learned about the Italian EU mission, that is, from an agency launch Afp and not by the Italian authorities. The Nigerian authorities have shown all their distrust and dislike of the Italian presence and so the IOC soldiers find themselves relegated to the airport. About forty Italian soldiers, under the command of a general, find themselves camped in a precarious manner in the US base at Niamey airport, without even a written agreement to protect them from a legal point of view. The situation is becoming increasingly unsustainable and the Italian commitment does not go beyond health or food donations. An attempt is made to run for cover and an Italian Air Force Kc 767 unloaded a load of medicines on Niamey last April, precisely to soften the government of Niger. The resistance of the Nigerian government was most likely fomented by Paris. In fact, France had asked Italy for direct intervention in the area because it hoped to lighten itself in the fight against the jihadist forces by using Italy. (France felt strong because of the ongoing negotiations in the shipbuilding sector between STX France and Fincantieri). Italy has rightly taken the good opportunity to focus on migrant trafficking, a much more sensitive topic of national interest. The Italians, therefore, identify the area to place the base in the capital, but the real engagement with the soldiers in the field has been reshaped close to the Libyan border. So France does not stand by and places 4 men in the Sahel region and this time, Barkhane uses the support of British troops. Once again Italy is treated as a "doormat", you adapt or you succumb. In Niger there is also the presence of about 1000 American soldiers, to build a base for APR aircraft in Agadez. The mission is designed to hunt down the jihadist forces present in the area.