WHAT'S THE GABON COUP ALL ABOUT?

"New boss" same as the "old boss" but with a different boss?

More and more the coup in Gabon is looking like a Franco-American vs Chinese turf war. Firstly there's this from the China Daily: 

"President Xi Jinping and Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership on Wednesday as the two nations pledged to bolster cooperation on infrastructure, agriculture and the response to climate change.

In talks with Bongo at the Great Hall of the People, Xi also reiterated Beijing's unwavering support for African nations in following an independent path of development and its firm backing for Africa's efforts in advancing food security, industrialization and green development.

Before their talks, the president gave the Gabonese leader, who is on a four-day state visit to China, a grand welcoming ceremony with a 21-gun salute, a review of the guard of honor and the performances of military bands."

And then there's this about the coup leader from a French language source:

"Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, current president of the Gabonese transition, is a man who occupies a key position in the political history of modern Gabon. As Commander-in-Chief of the Republican Guard, he played a crucial role in announcing the cancellation of the presidential election and the dissolution of Gabonese institutions, minutes after the official results were released.

General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema is an influential figure in the Gabonese army. He is also known to be a multibillionaire, involved in embezzlement and having links to the drug circles of the South American-Ivorian cartels. [...]

...Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema is also involved in controversial cases. According to a 2020 investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), he owns several properties in the United States worth more than a million dollars. For example, in 2018, he acquired a property in Silver Spring, Maryland, for $447,000 in cash."

Then, just recently, LeMonde was asking this rather pointed question: