JOHN IRISH and TASSILO HUMMEL FRANCE continues to back its envoy in Burkina Faso despite a request by the Burkinabe government to replace him amid growing anti-French sentiment likely fuelled by Russian mercenaries, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said. In December, the Ouagadougou government sent a letter requesting the departure of France's ambassador - a move the French government described as "not standard practice." "I would like to express my support and our support for our ambassador and for all the embassy staff, who are doing a remarkable job in conditions which, as you know, are difficult," Colonna told LCI TV, adding that…