Madagascar detains ex-French serviceman in alleged destabilisation plot
Madagascar has placed former French national serviceman Guy Baret in pretrial detention and expelled a French embassy official amid an investigation into a purported destabilisation plot. Prosecutors say the group, which includes a Malagasy army officer, planned to spread false information, sabotage infrastructure such as Jirama power facilities, harbour wanted individuals, and conspire against the state; some suspects face judicial supervision while the mastermind status remains contested. France protested the expulsion and summoned its envoy, amid a broader backdrop of Madagascar-France tensions.