France

Macron, Ruto Co-Host Africa Summit

Is France's Africa summit a genuine new era of equal partnership or just neo-colonial damage control with a rebrand?

Published MAY 11

Story

Above: Emmanuel Macron and William Ruto shake hands in Nairobi on May 10. Image credit: Luis TATO/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-government narrative

The Africa Forward Summit marks a potential turning point in France-Africa relations, with 11 deals signed across transport, energy, ports and digital infrastructure. Hosting the summit in Nairobi — the first time in an Anglophone country — signals a meaningful shift beyond the old Françafrique model. With 150 French companies already operating in Kenya, supporters say this is the kind of practical, results-focused engagement many African economies need.

RFI Africa News Agency The Star Business Today Kenya

Government-critical narrative

France’s pivot to Nairobi looks like damage control dressed up as diplomacy — a retreat after expulsions from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger amid anti-French backlash. The new defense pact with Kenya, granting French troops immunity from local courts, echoes arrangements that fueled resentment in the Sahel. Rebranding Françafrique as "equal partnership" does not change a system that leaves African communities poor while their resources power the world.