France courts Anglophone Africa as West Africa grip slips
France has intensified its diplomatic and economic outreach to Anglophone African countries as it grapples with shrinking influence in its traditional Francophone strongholds in West Africa, where military coups, anti-French sentiment and the expulsion of French troops have reshaped regional alliances.
The shift was evident during the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, the first time France has hosted the high-level Africa-France gathering in an English-speaking African nation.
Analysts say hosting the summit in Nairobi symbolised France’s strategic pivot away from its old Francophone sphere of influence after setbacks in countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which have cut military ties with Paris and sought new alliances with Russia and other powers.
More than 30 African leaders joined French President Emmanuel Macron and Kenyan President William Ruto in discussions centered on trade, innovation, youth empowerment and strategic partnerships.
Macron said France was seeking to build “partnerships on an equal footing” with African countries, insisting the future relationship should be based on shared economic interests rather than colonial-era ties.
“Africa is succeeding. It is the youngest continent in the world and has the highest growth in the world. All that Africa needs is investment to be more sovereign, and we want to be partners on an equal level,” Macron said during a youth engagement forum at the University of Nairobi.
The summit also saw Kenya and France deepen cooperation in education, digital innovation and youth empowerment.
During the “Africa Forward: Future Makers” session at the University of Nairobi, the two leaders unveiled plans aimed at preparing African youth for the digital economy through expanded science and technology training programmes.
A major highlight was the announcement of the “Digital Africa” programme under which France plans to establish 50 digital centres across Africa and train one million young people by 2030.
Macron said future cooperation would focus on artificial intelligence, STEM education, innovation and technology transfer.
“We have to train more people through investment in STEM and AI capacities, partnerships with the best universities, and educate more talent to ensure young people are trained here and help develop the continent,” he said.
President Ruto said Kenya was already reforming its education system to align learning with the demands of the digital economy.
“For us to be future-ready, infrastructure and knowledge are critical. We reviewed our education system to make it competency-based because education was previously about cramming and theory only,” Ruto said.
The summit further produced major investment commitments, with Macron announcing €23 billion in joint African-French investments targeting infrastructure, clean energy, artificial intelligence and logistics. Among the flagship projects is a €700 million investment to modernise the Port of Mombasa.
