'Macron always been a strong believer in the importance of Africa as a partner for the future'
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
Try again
Issued on: 11/05/2026 - 21:04Modified: 11/05/2026 - 21:19
ShareYinka Oyetade is pleased to welcome Paul Melly, Consulting Fellow of the Africa Programme, Chatham House. Emmanuel Macron is co-hosting the Africa Forward Summit in Kenya, the first time France has staged such a gathering in an English-speaking African nation. this comes on the heels of France’s unprecedented strategic setbacks across the Sahel. Melly argues that France’s eastward diplomatic turn is not merely an attempt to “bounce back” after recent reversals, but the continuation of a longer strategic project launched early in Macron’s presidency: one designed to “rebalance in geographical terms France’s engagement with the entire continent.”
Video by: Yinka OYETADE Keywords for this article Read more Read less
