Africa summit in Kenya: France seeks new partners

Following a withdrawal from the Sahel region, France is seeking to expand its geostrategic influence in Africa by seeking allies. The first Africa Summit, to be held May 11–12 in Kenya, is intended to mark a fresh start.

When the foreign ministers of France and Kenya open the "Africa Forward Summit: Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth" at the University of Nairobi on May 11, the focus will be on trying to find common ground.

The two-day meeting in Kenya is the first summit of its kind that France is hosting in an English-speaking African country that is not among its traditional partners.

There is a reason for this: According to analysts, President Emmanuel Macron wants to send a signal and initiate a shift away from France's previous Africa policy in West Africa. 

Why France makes a shift

"France has lost a great deal of prestige and influence in Francophone African countries, especially in the Sahel region," Ulf Laessing, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's Sahel regional program in Mali, told DW. "It is now making a strong effort to expand into other Anglophone countries — South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria — in order to reposition itself and present itself as Africa's supposedly most important partner."

Macron and Kenyan President William Ruto will showcase their new partnership as co-chairs of the summit. The focus will be on enhanced security, economic investment, and green energy.

Ruto also intends to discuss making the global financial system more equitable for indebted African nations. France has pledged to support this campaign. Around 30 heads of state and government, as well as international guests, are expected to attend.

The summit is intended to signal a shift in Paris' Africa strategy. "There is a clear connection," Laessing said. "The aim is to offset the loss of influence in Francophone Africa by gaining more influence in Anglophone countries."

Though France may also want to expand into its former colonies later on, should the military regimes in the Sahel eventually fall, Laessing added, noting that criticism and prejudice toward France are strong in Francophone countries.

"Africa has a very young population; in Mali, for example, the average age is 15 — they no longer have a connection to France," the analyst said. "The Malians have been deeply disappointed and manipulated, including by the elites who were tied to France."

Unwelcome in the Sahel

Since 2022/2023, there have been massive protests against French influence in West Africa, particularly in the Sahel region, with demonstrators accusing France of neocolonial policies and interference in internal affairs. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have ended military cooperation with Franceand forced the withdrawal of French troops.

These new military junta leaders in the region are capitalizing on anti-French sentiment to assert their sovereignty.

The CFA franc— a relic of the colonial past — has also long been a source of irritation for many West Africans.

As early as 2020, some West African countries had initiated a currency reform with France's approval to abolish the CFA franc. But the transition process is proving difficult. 

Given this loss of influence in West Africa, the Africa Summit in East Africa offers an opportunity to highlight the commitment of France, Kenya, and other African countries, according to experts.

"Following its withdrawal from the Sahel, France is seeking to realign its partnerships toward more diversified, economically oriented relationships, primarily in fast-growing regions such as East Africa," Yves Ekoué Amaïzo told DW.

The Togolese analyst is the director of the Afrocentricity Think Tank based in Vienna. Instead of focusing on raw material extraction, he added, France is seeking stable investment opportunities in the areas of infrastructure, energy —particularly renewable energy— the digital economy, and logistics.

"And also projects involving the private sector that ensure a long-term impact without relying on security considerations," he said. 

Fierce competition in East Africa

Competition with existing business partners in the region is likely to be fierce, as France will have to compete with alternative financing offers from China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

France is already doing successful business in Kenya: According to the French ambassador to Kenya, France is the fifth-largest foreign direct investor in the country, supporting 46,000 jobs. Trade, which the Kenyan Trade Ministry of estimates at around $300 million (€255 million), is growing too.

Kenya exports fruit, coffee, tea, flowers, and spices to France and imports pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, chemicals, and machinery.

However, ahead of Monday's summit, President Ruto made clear Kenya was also aspiring to a role as a global player: "Every item on the agenda, every conversation, and every commitment is aimed at one thing: An Africa that is at the forefront of global affairs, shaping its own destiny, determining its own future, and influencing the global discourse," he said, according to the Kenyan media outlet The Star.

East Africa is gaining increasing geopolitical influence, according to Amaizo. "Paris is signing new defense and investment partnerships with countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Such agreements reinforce their status as strategic hubs between Europe, the Indian Ocean, and the entire African continent," he said.

For Kenyan economist James Shikwati, the decision to hold the France-Africa Summit in Nairobi therefore comes as no surprise. Kenya wants to forge stronger alliances with major global powers. "The French government may have felt that this Kenyan policy offers it a better entry point back into Africa," he told DW.

“In this case, into anglophone Africa, where France isn't necessarily viewed with hostility," he added.

Furthermore, Kenya is attempting to position itself as a gateway to other African countries.

After all, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi within the East African Community (EAC), there are at least three countries that are largely Francophone— another advantage for France.

According to Shikwati, France's new approach also shows how the tense global situation, with its crises in the Middle East and Ukraine, is putting pressure on traditional markets.

"Established players are finding themselves in a new, difficult situation in which they must realign their global business strategy," he said. That is why attention is turning to emerging economies that also want to operate on a global scale. 

This article was translated from German.