From July 25 to 28, French President Emmanuel Macron will be in Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau. On the menu, meetings devoted to the economy and the fight against terrorism mainly.
This July 25, Emmanuel Macron begins his first mini-African tour of the second term. A trip of just over 72 hours which will take the President of the French Republic to Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau. The Elysée advocates the "continuity" and "constancy" of French diplomacy, after a first term that was nevertheless inconclusive in terms of Paris's foreign and African policy.
In Cameroon, where he will land first, the French president will be accompanied by its new Minister for Foreign Affairs and Europe, Catherine Colonna. A life-size test for the replacement of Jean-Yves Le Drian, who was once spokesperson for the presidency under Jacques Chirac. At the time, she regularly traveled to Africa with the French president, but she is not, however, a specialist on the continent. During their trip, the President and his head of diplomacy will be accompanied by the Ministers for the Armed Forces, International Trade and the Secretary of State for Development.
It will therefore be a question, a priori, of economic relations. "This trip makes it possible to keep the thread of the agenda for the renewal of the Africa-France relationship, an agenda which was built and developed during the first mandate", indicates Franck Paris, the Africa adviser to Emmanuel Macron, who specifies that this trip is also a desire of the Elysée to restore some importance to an area forgotten by France. “The President will go to a region, Central Africa, which he has rarely visited until now, even if he has been to Chad, assures Paris. After West Africa, East Africa or Southern Africa, the scope of our partnership with Africa has a continental dimension”.
Getting closer to ECOWAS
Important stage of this mini-tour: Cotonou. In Benin, Emmanuel Macron will meet Patrice Talon to, of course, talk about African works of art. But as in Cameroon, it will be above all a question of security and the fight against terrorism. neighbor of a Togo affected by terrorist attacks in recent times, Benin is a country at the heart of the fight against terrorism, which tries somehow to contain the jihadist threat.
In Cotonou, Emmanuel Macron should also discuss a slightly more delicate subject with his Beninese counterpart. Indeed, according to the local press, the cases of Joël Aïvo and Reckya Madougou, two opponents heavily condemned, will be treated, off, by the French president. Lately, the Beninese head of state made a gesture by temporarily releasing political opponents, but Aïvo and Madougou were not affected by this symbolic act. Still, Emmanuel Macron generally finds it difficult to discuss human rights with his authoritarian counterparts. Will this trip be an exception?
Last stage of Emmanuel Macron's tour, a slightly more surprising destination: Guinea-Bissau. A step that has two objectives. The first is to meet Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who has just taken over the presidency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Another reason: if Bissau is Portuguese-speaking, it shows how much Paris will try, in the coming years, to regain influence. Whereas Togo and Gabon turned to the Commonwealth, France wants to find new partners.