Accused of neo-colonial meddling in many African countries where it has traditionally had close ties, France is broadening its horizons by co-hosting a summit of African leaders in English-speaking Kenya for the first time.
Speaking at the Africa Forward Summit in the capital, Nairobi, on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced investments worth $27bn (£20bn) in Africa in areas such as energy transition, digital and AI, the maritime economy, and agriculture.
“Africa is succeeding. It’s the youngest continent in the world… and needs investment to become more self-reliant,” he said, adding that this would create some 250,000 jobs in Africa and France.
“We are not simply here to come and invest on the African continent alongside you – we need the great African business leaders to come and invest in France,” he told the audience at Nairobi’s convention centre, reports the AFP news agency.
The two-day summit is aimed at broadening Paris’s partnerships and securing investment deals on the continent against a backdrop of rising anti-French sentiment and diminishing influence in its former colonies, especially in West Africa. This reflects a step-change in how Paris views its relationships with Africa.
For many years after independence in the 1960s, France maintained close economic, political, and security ties with many of its former colonies, leading to widespread accusations that little had changed.
French presidents over the years have also held regular summits with African leaders – either in France or French-speaking African countries – until now.
Gilles Yabi, a Senegal-based political analyst focusing on relations between France and Africa, told the BBC’s Newsday programme: “There’s a new generation of Africans who… want to turn the page on colonialism and post-colonial influence.”
Kenya’s Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi called it an “opportunity for Africa to start speaking as one”.
“Having this summit held in a non-French-speaking African country on the continent, to me, is a very, very big message that we should not be looking at engagements on the basis of the official languages spoken in those countries,” he told the BBC.
He said it was an “opportune moment” for Kenya and France to break away from the “more or less artificial” linguistic barriers stemming from countries being “branded” as Anglophone, Francophone, or Lusophone, which “deters proper integration”.
“Kenya has been a pivotal country on matters of diplomacy and conventions,” Mudavadi added, explaining that the summit would cover peace and security before focusing “largely on the economic partnership that can be developed between Africa and the rest of the world, including France”.
Last week, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei similarly spoke of Kenya’s key diplomatic role, describing the nation as a “bridge-builder” in Africa.
He told the BBC that, as a former British colony, Kenya’s relationship with France was different because it was not shaped by the same colonial history as West African countries.
The military leaders who have seized power in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger – all former French colonies – have expelled French troops that were helping in the fight against an Islamist insurgency in the region and instead turned to Russia for assistance.
Ahead of the summit, Macron defended France’s significantly reduced military presence on the continent, saying French troops leaving “wasn’t a humiliation but a logical response to a given situation”.
“When our presence was no longer wanted after the coups, we left,” he explained. “I’m convinced that we must let these states and their leaders, even putschists, chart their own course.”
None of the leaders of the three countries are attending the summit.
Djibouti, at the mouth of the Red Sea, now hosts France’s last remaining operational military base in Africa.
Political analyst Yabi said hosting the summit in Kenya was an “illustration of changing dynamics” in the relationship between African nations and France.
“It’s not only a reaction by France to the deteriorating relationship with some countries in West Africa,” he told Newsday. “It’s also a trend that has been there for some time because France realises that it has to look for new markets, dynamic markets, and look beyond the traditional former colonies of West and Central Africa.”
While Kenya and France are both seeking economic gains from co-hosting the summit, Paris is also striving to show its relevance on the continent at a time when other powers – such as China, Russia, and Turkey – are gaining influence.
Macron, speaking at the University of Nairobi on Monday, said Africa “needs investment to become more sovereign”, explaining that the continent “no longer… needs or wants to hear” European leaders telling Africans what their countries need.
“This is a continent that I no longer want France to view as a private preserve, where business leaders supposedly have all the rights or guaranteed contracts simply because it’s Francophone Africa,” the French leader said.
During one of the engagements, the French president interrupted a speaker on stage to ask the audience to remain quiet.
“There is a total lack of respect,” Macron told attendees before urging those holding side discussions to continue them outside or in bilateral meeting rooms.
However, some social media users saw this as exactly the kind of colonial lecturing he claimed France had moved away from, while others argued he was within his rights.
More than 30 African leaders are attending the summit, along with Africa’s richest man, Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote, other top African industrial leaders, and representatives from major French firms.
“The world is becoming more brutal and more fragmented, which is why we need more international cooperation,” Arnaud Suquet, France’s ambassador to Kenya, told Kenyan channel NTV on Friday.
But, he added, it is not as though “France has just discovered Kenya yesterday”, pointing out that his country is already Kenya’s fourth-largest source of foreign investment.
The Carrefour supermarkets dotted through Nairobi’s more affluent neighbourhoods are where people can experience France’s influence.
Shoppers push trolleys past shelves stocked with imported French cheeses, wines, cosmetics, and bakery products alongside local Kenyan brands.
For many younger Kenyans, France is associated as much with retail, fashion, and food as it is with geopolitics – a stark contrast to sentiment in many of its former colonies.
Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst at Control Risks, said France was “repositioning and softening its presence and reputation”.
Rather than relying mainly on military influence, she believes France is increasingly using business, investment, and soft power to maintain its relevance on the continent.
“France is looking to leverage already recognisable commercial brands, cultural presence, and its weight in the European Union to mobilise economic initiatives,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s government is seeking investment in infrastructure, renewable energy, and technology. French companies are already involved in transport, retail, and energy projects in the country, and officials hope the gathering will unlock even more investment.
There are also early conversations around nuclear energy co-operation as Kenya seeks to diversify its long-term energy strategy.
Last month, Nairobi approved a five-year renewable defence agreement with France, including an array of operations such as intelligence sharing, maritime security in the Indian Ocean, and disaster response.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Mudavadi said the two nations were also discussing how to develop and utilise new areas of co-operation.
“This is the whole area of focus, and it is telling that it is called the Africa Forward Summit.
“It’s not about wanting to dig and look into the past.”
English 