AFRICA - FRANCE FORWARD SUMMIT

Introduction

The 2026 Africa-France Summit, officially dubbed the Africa Forward Summit , took place in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 11–12, 2026. It was co-hosted by the Kenyan President, William Ruto and the French President, Emmanuel Macron. The surface language was predictably, polished, diplomatic, promising but with all the potential of being misleading:Partnership. Growth. Youth Opportunity. Green transition. Security cooperation.That was the language talked about in this "Africa - Forward Summit". But language itself does not matter, what matters is what lies beneath the polished diplomatic language...was or did the Summit represents a genuine, real shift in Africa - France Relations meant to take Africa forward...or it was just a repositioning and rebranding French show of the old, colonial, exploitative and resource extracting French colonialism.

A Troubled & Humiliated Imperial Power

France, going by recent events in Francophone Africa can be correctly described as a troubled, humiliated and declining imperial power. All of a sudden France is now seeking new inroads in other regions of Africa after the political humiliation and strategic expulsion from parts of the SAHEL region. France has been chased away from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger. France is now attempting to reposition itself in East Africa through Kenya under the potentially misleading but polished soft language of "partnership", "investment" and "renewed cooperation".

Through symbolic gestures, youth engagement, and the Africa Forward Summit, Macron projected a message of partnership, humility, and mutual respect rather than dominance. The summit itself was France’s first major Africa-focused summit in an English-speaking African country — a move many see as Paris trying to expand beyond its traditional Francophone influence at a time when anti-French sentiment continues to grow across parts of West and Central Africa.

Africa's Experiences With France

Beneath the polished diplomatic language, however, lies a deeper psychological question that African history has never fully released:

what exactly is Africa reopening when France seeks renewed influence within African political space again?, Mwangi Muraya Wanyambugi, a student of Counseling Psychology & A Member of Nakuru Human Rights Defenders Network questions.

Wanyambugi continues;

"In psychology, relationships are rarely judged by promises alone. They are shaped by emotional memory, by patterns repeated over time, and by what communities internally associate with previous experience".

adding that,

"And Africa remembers. It is a long nervous system stretching like the River Nile, carrying experience from one generation to the next. Its memory runs as deep as Lake Victoria, where what is visible on the surface is only a small part of what lies beneath. At times it rises with a force that reaches the heights of suspicion, as sharp as Mount Kilimanjaro or Mount Kenya, where clarity comes under pressure and distance. And even then it sinks back into depths that are still not fully mapped, as vast and layered as the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC), where memory is dense, ancient, and still unfolding.And within that memory lives the African elephant, carrying recollection across landscapes and generations, known not for forgetting but for retaining paths, faces, and seasons long after they have changed", Mwangi Muraya Wanyambugi writes.

And what experience, what memory, what recollections does the African elephant have about France over generations and time.The memory stretches long like river Nile, runs deep as Lake Victoria, a memory as dense as the tropical rainforests of DRC, resulting in the heights of suspicion, as high and sharp as Mount Kilimanjaro or Mount Kenya. Africa remembers French colonial and post-colonial shenanigans against Africa. And the memory is not good.

Colonial France committed numerous violent acts and human rights violations during its rule in Africa. French rule was characterized by forced labor, systematic massacres, and economic exploitation. The purpose; transfer of resources to France.

Major Historical Atrocities

1. Algerian War and Colonization (1830–1962).Often described as a "crime against humanity," this period involved extreme violence. During the 1954–1962 war, an estimated 400,000 to 1.5 million Algerians died. The French military used torture, executed civilians, destroyed over 8,000 villages, and placed over 2 million Algerians in concentration camps.

2. The Thiaroye Massacre (Senegal - 1944). French troops opened fire on unarmed African soldiers at Camp Thiaroye in Senegal who were protesting for their pay, resulting in around 300 deaths.

3. Sétif and Guelma Massacres (Algeria, 1945)* In Algeria, following protests, French authorities responded with brutal force, killing thousands of indigenous civilians.

4. Madagacar Uprising (1947).* A violent repression of nationalist rebellion where French forces killed between 11,000 to 80,000 people.

5. Ekité Massacre (Cameroon, 1956). In Cameroon, French forces attacked unarmed activists from the Union of the Populations of Cameroon (UPC), part of a broader "war of repression".

6. Nuclear Tests in Algeria (1960s).France conducted nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara, leaving long-term radioactive pollution and affecting the local population's health.

Note:In 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the colonization of Algeria as a " crime against humanity" but has not issued a formal apology.

Post-Colonial France

1. Assassinations of Leaders. France has been linked to the assassination or removal of over 22 African presidents since 1962, including, Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara (Burkina Faso) and Ruben Um Nyobe (Cameroon).

2. Military Interventions. Constant military interventions and maintenance of troops in former colonies to control politics, particularly to secure resources like uranium.

3.Secret Coups. Reports indicate the orchestrated overthrow of governments that sought to challenge French economic or political influence.

4. Libya, 2011. Allegations and reports suggest that France played a direct, significant role in the October 2011 killing of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

5. Sahel Militant Groups. France's hand and involvement has been singled out in supporting terrorist organizations against Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

6. Niger, March 2025. In 2025, the French nuclear group Orano took Niger's military government to court, over its SOMAIR uranium mines.Casting serious questions and doubts on where Africa's resources sovereignty starts and ends.

7. Benin, December 2025. In December 2025, France, was decisive in crushing a coup in Benin...not because France wanted constitutional order in Benin but to keep its cotton billionaire, President , President Talon who governs Benin for France in power .

Everything France has was stolen from Africa, gold reserves, artifacts in museums etc Even its nuclear reactors are pumped by Niger uranium and at one point in time France was receiving 70% of its electricity from Niger, while rural Niger remains in the dark.

And Macron had the temerity of declaring during this recent Africa- Forward Summit that France is the true pan- Africanist.

"We are the true Pan-Africanists",

declared Emmanuel Macron, President of France.This is not only laughable, but an insult, a mockery to the history, memory and conscience of Africa. Surely, African forefathers must be turning in their graves, surprisingly & sadly, African presidents were busy clapping their hands when he said so.

US$27 Billion Dollar Investment Pledge

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced 23 billion euros (US$27billion) of investment during the Africa Forward summit in Kenya. Announcing 14 billion euros (US$16.4bn) of investments in private and public funds from French companies, and 9 billion euros (US$10.5billion) from African ones, on energy transition, agriculture and artificial intelligence (AI). The US $27 billion is structured as a "Co-Investment", that is, the US$27 billion is not a grant or direct foreign aid from the French state. Instead, it is a blended finance package designed to pool together public and private funds US$16.4billion will come from both public and private French entities. US$10.5 billion is expected to be contributed by African entrepreneurs and institutions.

Macron came to Kenya with this so-called US$ 27 Billion dollar investment pledge ...but for long such kind of investments have been viewed as instruments to control a continent (Africa), to influence African politics, to extract African resources, to negotiate her future externally (a trend set since then at Berlin Conference 1884). How is this US$27 billion investment pledge any different? It is very difficult to not visualize this so-called investment manifesting as loans issued to African economies, thereby adding to debt burden or crisis. Though the package is framed as "mutually beneficial", it risks continuing a legacy where foreign powers primarily extract raw resources (such as green minerals) under the guise of infrastructure investment. One is skeptical on how this investment is going to turn different or rather it will simply replicate older models of extracting African raw materials , thereby reproducing European hegemony which has been suffocating African economies ever since.

Africa is not rejecting investments or the world. Investments should be beneficial to both parties, not what the past has taught us time and again. Investments beneficial to the West at the expense of Africa.Africa is not crying for inclusion but is demanding genuine fairness & equality from a world that has been extracting & plundering African resources for the past 400 years to date

But the open secret is that the US$27 billion investment pledge is not only economic cooperation, but also as France strategically repositions itself as competition for influence in Africa intensifies from China, Russia, Turkey, Gulf states, and even stronger intra-African partnerships.

It cannot be denied that at the core of this investment pledge by France is a geopolitical reset or rebooting being performed by France. It is an aggressive financial policy attempting to rebuild trust and economic influence for France in East Africa after being pushed out of military and diplomatic roles in several West African nations ( Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso). This investment pledge is meant to counter the heavy infrastructure and resource investments from China, Russia, and Gulf states across the continent.

Security Deal Or Extraction Of Critical Rare Metals?

Well before the Africa Forward Summit had concluded, 800 French troops had already arrived in Mombasa with warships. Just 55km away sits Mrima Hills, a US$62 Billion rich in rare earth minerals and niobium. Coming right France- Kenya deal giving the French immunity and broad access. According to the deal, French troops are present only for "training". But Africa has seen this exact play before. Why is a foreign army positioning itself next to Kenya's most valuable resource while the majority of Kenyans just like fellow Africans stay poor? African leaders should and must secure Africa's wealth for Africans first. But they are doing the exact opposite,securing it first for foreigners before their own citizens.

Push Back

It is high time African nations to stop being naive. When a colonial power loses control in one region of Africa, they start repositioning in another African region. Africa must learn to read history in real time. As the AES nations , are pushing back against decades of French foreign influence, military presence, and economic dependency, new French “strategic partnerships” are suddenly expanding elsewhere across the continent. Africans must stop being naive about how global power operates.

History is clear and warned us on how colonialism commenced. Initially, colonizing powers and forces came with trade deals, promises, diplomacy, missionaries, and “cooperation”. What followed later were occupation papers.The trend and tools are still the same. Neo-colonialism tools are more polished: debt agreements, military cooperation, extraction contracts, foreign-backed institutions, and *political elites tied too closely to outside interests.

Political Elites Too Tied To Foreign Interests

Its sad but real, many African political elites are becoming more tied to foreign interests than they are tied to their citizens...concerning indeed!!! This is a worrying, growing trend across Africa- political landscape with political elites signing behind closed doors destiny changing agreements with foreign powers . No public scrutiny, no parliamentary debate, so much secrecy.... Why? There is no way an American, British, Japanese leader can sign a foreign agreement with a fellow powerful foreign power without parliamentary, congress or public scrutiny...this is meant to safeguard and protect national interest. Alas!!!, in Africa, political leaders sign overnight, behind closed doors, in secrecy agreements with foreign powers, no consultation with their constituencies , with their parliaments, and absolutely no engagement with their own citizens. In this case, before the Africa - France summit was even over- boom!!! 800 French troops had already landed in Mombasa just like that.

But Africans have every right to know and question the intention behind modern geopolitical deals. Worrisome is when activists and citizens raise concerns and then face intimidation or arrests. Kenyan took to the streets to protest against this Africa- France Summit in question. But reports do suggest the detention of activists over protests and criticism. This only serves to deepen public suspicion. If these deals truly serve African people first, why fear scrutiny? Why silence dissent? Why criminalize questioning? A confident sovereign nation should never fear public debate about foreign influence.

Pan-Afrikanism is not paranoia. It is a historical memory. No colonial power invested in Africa for charity. Empires move for resources, markets, influence, strategic positioning, and control. That does not mean Africa must isolate herself from the world but it does mean Africa must stop blindly embracing and celebrating every foreign deal as “development” without openly and critically asking who truly benefits from such deals in the long term. Right now, the question every African should be asking is simple: Are these partnerships building African sovereignty or quietly weakening it?

Beyond the rhetoric and symbolism Africa and Africans should remain skeptical. Decades of Françafrique politics, military involvement, and economic dependency have created deep mistrust toward former colonial powers, especially France. And the question is, how is it going to be different this time around, and to use African wisdom- does a colonial leopard change its spots?

Conclusion

Does the Africa Forward Summit represent the beginning of a real shift in France-Africa relation or its another exercise in symbolism, a French reboot on the continent, a rebranding and repositioning, a French geopolitical show? The latter seems highly so.And now the question is- should Africa remain a geopolitical playground for external powers or rise into genuine sovereignty, industrial power, resource control, and civilisational confidence on its own terms? This is what is playing out beneath the diplomatic ceremonies and polished speeches. This is the same France still accused across Africa of manipulating African economies, controlling resources, and maintaining influence through political pressure and political interferences. Now France comes talking about “partnership” and “progress" declaring them (French) as the true "pan-Afrikanists". Africa should be increasingly politically conscious and unwilling to accept such old, colonial power dynamics disguised as new diplomacy. Africa needs to wake up before exploitation is rebranded as diplomacy.

F Madondo (African Teacher) fortmada123@gmail.com

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