On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron began a four-day tour of Central Africa, during which he will visit Gabon, Angola, the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In the evening, Macron arrived in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, where he went directly to the presidential palace to attend a dinner with his counterpart, President Ali Bongo. Thursday will be followed by another meeting within the framework of the “One Forest” summit on preserving tropical forests.
This tour constitutes President Macron’s eighteenth visit to Africa since the start of his first term in 2017.
Macron headed to the continent two days after he presented an African strategy for the next four years in Paris.
On Monday, the French president called for “building a new balanced, reciprocal and responsible relationship” with Africa.
He also announced the reduction of the French military deployment, which has focused for ten years on combating terrorists in the Sahel region.
The French President stressed that “Africa is not a back garden,” calling for “humility and listening” in his speech, which was considered a continuation of a speech he delivered in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, in November 2017.
Since August 2022, the French army has been pushed to withdraw from Mali and Burkina Faso by the ruling military junta in both countries. Burkina Faso also announced, on Tuesday, the suspension of the “military assistance agreement” it concluded with France the day after its independence in 1961.
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