Anti-French feelings have been growing in some Sahelian countries in recent years. Between 2021 and 2022 the Sahel region, especially countries like Mali and Burkina Faso have been the epicentre of unprecedented anti-French protests. As Assimi Goïta and Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso seized control in these nations by ousting democratic governments, there have been exceptional shifts in the leaders’ statements regarding France’s involvement in the Sahel. This change is characterized by polarized or divisive political narratives which amplify antiFrench sentiments in Mali and Burkina Faso. This qualitative study delves into the dynamics of polarization in the discourses of Malian interim President Assimi Goïta and President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso. In other words, this analysis explores polarization strategies used by both leaders to demonize France’s policy in Africa. Drawing on Van Dijk’s (2006) Critical Discourse Analysis framework, this study reveals the occurrence of four main tactics of ideological-based polarization in Assimi Goïta and Ibrahim Traoré’s discourses which are: lexicalization, actor description, self-national glorification and victimization. The findings show that lexicalisation and actor description strategies are frequently employed by Assimi Goïta and Ibrahim Traoré to present ‘Themselves’ as good and ‘Others’ as bad.