Macron tours East Africa amid push to redefine France’s role in Africa

Paris seeks to repair economic and security ties while countering rising anti-French sentiment across Africa.French President Emmanuel Macron has started a tour of Africa" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8812" data-entity-type="location">East Africa as Paris seeks to rebuild its influence on the continent after a series of setbacks, especially in its former West African colonies.Macron began the three-country tour in Egypt on Saturday, which will also take him to Kenya and Ethiopia.He will cohost a summit in English-speaking Kenya on Monday and Tuesday as France seeks to redefine its role in Africa, moving away from its postcolonial role towards closer cooperation.The summit will bring together African leaders and business executives, with several agreements between French and Kenyan companies set to be signed during the visit to boost economic and commercial cooperation.The “Africa Forward” summit will be the first in an Anglophone country attended by Macron since he took office in 2017.The French president will wrap up his tour in Addis Ababa on Wednesday, where he will hold meetings with Ethiopian officials and take part in talks at the African Union headquarters on peace and security in Africa.The tour is widely seen as a bid by Paris to repair economic and security ties and counter rising anti-French sentiment across parts of Africa.Africa’s changing balanceFrance colonised large parts of West and Africa" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8312" data-entity-type="location">Central Africa, and maintained excessive political and economic influence long after independence.France, once widely accused of supporting unpopular leaders for strategic gain, is no longer the dominant foreign power it once was in Francophone Africa.Across the continent, there is a growing push for more equal, win-win partnerships, tighter control over natural resources and broader alliances beyond traditional Western partners.