France's Macron defends Europe in Africa

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NAIROBI — French President Emmanuel Macron, in Nairobi for a two-day economic summit, has defended European involvement in Africa, contrasting relations with China's strategy across the continent.

In an interview with Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report, the French leader said he first strongly condemned colonialism when he came to power in 2017.

But he said the colonial era was not solely to blame for issues still affecting Africa. "We must not exonerate from all responsibility the seven decades that followed independence," he added, calling on African leaders to improve governance.

European former colonial powers such as France and the UK remain targets for criticism in Africa, but Macron maintained that they were not "the predators of this century".

"Europe defends the international order, effective multilateralism, the rule of law, free and open trade," he was quoted as saying.

In contrast, the United States and China were locked in a trade standoff, with no respect for the rules, he added.

On critical minerals and rare earths, China, he said, "operates according to a predatory logic: it does the processing at home" and creates "dependencies with the rest of the world."

France’s President Emmanuel Macron (R) listens to young leaders as he takes part in the youth session Africa Forward: Future Makers during the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi on May 11, 2026. (AFP)

Kenya's President William Ruto (L) watches as France's President Emmanuel Macron (R) gestures in a selfie video filmed by Brian Dinga from Rampage Gaming as they meet with artists from the Creation Africa program during the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi on May 11, 2026. (AFP)

Macron, leading a two-day summit aimed at renewing France's engagement with Africa after years of strained ties with its former colonies, said Europe was instead promoting "a strategy of autonomy" for both continents.

Central to transforming Africa's fortunes should be an overhaul of international finance, to set up a system of financial guarantees to bring in private investment, he added.

France withdrew its troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger after the military in each country seized power between 2020 and 2023.

Asked about the juntas, Macron said: "I'm convinced that we must let these states and their leaders, even putschists, chart their own course."

But he defended France's military presence in the Sahel region, as it had been requested to fight the jihadist threat.

"When our presence was no longer wanted after the coups, we left," he said. "That wasn't a humiliation but a logical response to a given situation."

"A new era is about to start. The Sahel will one day regain normal governance" with democratically elected leaders who "genuinely care about their people", he added.