La Nigérienne

"La Nigérienne" ("The Nigerien") is the former national anthem of Niger. The lyrics are by Maurice Albert Thiriet; Robert Jacquet and Nicolas Abel François Frionnet wrote the music. It was adopted as Niger's anthem in 1961 and relinquished in 2023.

History
The anthem was written by French film composer Maurice Albert Thiriet. The music was composed by two other Frenchmen, Robert Jacquet and Nicolas Abel François Frionnet. It was adopted in 1961, a year after Niger gained independence from France.

On 21 November 2019, President Mahamadou Issoufou announced that he had decided to change the national anthem. The decision followed criticism that some of the lyrics appeared to express gratitude to the former coloniser, France, with Nigeriens on social media challenging lines three and four. A committee chaired by Prime Minister Brigi Rafini was "charged with reflecting on the current anthem by providing corrections" and "if possible find a new anthem that responds to the current context of Niger". Created in 2018, it was composed of several members of the Government and about fifteen "experts experienced in writing and musical composition". Assamana Malam Issa, the Minister of Cultural Renaissance, said a hymn must be found "that can galvanize the population, be for us a kind of war cry to touch our patriotic fiber".

On 22 June 2023 the National Assembly adopted The Honor of the Fatherland as Niger's new anthem.

Media

 * Vocal version (Recording from a radio station) Anthem finishes at 1:47