French President Emmanuel Macron opened France’s first-ever business summit in an English-speaking African nation on Monday (11 May), as Paris seeks to strengthen ties across the continent following a decline in influence in several former French colonies.
Ahead of the Africa Forward Summit, Macron announced on Sunday that French shipping group CMA CGM planned to invest €700 million (U.S.$823 million) to modernise a terminal at the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
The summit in Kenya reflects France’s efforts to deepen economic and diplomatic ties beyond its traditional sphere of influence in West and Central Africa.
Paris has historically maintained its closest African relationships with former colonies in the west and centre of the continent. However, a series of coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger since 2020 has brought anti-French military governments to power.
French troops have been expelled from the three countries, while military agreements with Paris have been cancelled. Russian mercenaries have been invited to take over the security role previously played by France in the fight against jihadist groups in the region.
France also handed over control of its last major military facility in Senegal in July 2025, after Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said French bases were incompatible with the country’s sovereignty.
Kenya, in East Africa, was colonised by Britain, meaning resentment over France’s colonial history is less pronounced than in many of its former colonies in West and Central Africa.
Kenyan President William Ruto hopes to use the summit to attract French investors seeking opportunities linked to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is being rolled out across the continent.
Ruto also wants to advance discussions on reforming the global financial system to make it fairer for heavily indebted African nations - a campaign France has pledged to support.
The Kenyan president will attend the G7 summit next month in Évian-les-Bains at France’s invitation, as Paris holds the group’s rotating presidency.
“We believe it’s a good thing if critical outcomes of this meeting ... can also be mainstreamed as critical agenda items by the G7,” Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi told Reuters.
More than 30 African leaders are attending the conference, alongside executives from major French companies including TotalEnergies and Orange, as well as Africa’s richest man, Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote.
At a joint news conference with Ruto on Sunday, Macron downplayed the absence of leaders from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. He noted that several West African heads of state, including Senegalese President Faye, would attend the summit.
“We can disagree with some of these governments ... but we never disagree with people,” he added.
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