French President Emmanuel Macron will begin a four-country tour of Africa on Thursday, a tightly packed trip that blends regional diplomacy, tense bilateral issues and high-stakes multilateral summits.
The visit will start in Mauritius, where Macron is expected to promote deeper cooperation between the island nation and neighbouring French territories Mayotte and Réunion in the Indian Ocean. Paris has been seeking to reposition its presence in the region through economic, cultural and security partnerships rather than purely military influence.
From Mauritius, Macron will travel to South Africa to attend the G20 summit over the weekend — a gathering set to be overshadowed by the boycott of the United States. The French president had hoped to use the summit’s margins for a face-to-face meeting with his Algerian counterpart, in a bid to ease persistent tensions between Paris and Algiers over history, migration and regional security.
While no formal meeting has yet been confirmed, officials say Macron still views direct engagement with Algeria as essential to stabilising relations and shoring up France’s wider North African strategy.
Macron will then head to Gabon, where he is scheduled to meet President Brice Oligui Nguema. The army general won presidential elections in April, formally ending a two-year transition launched after the 2023 coup that ousted long-time leader Ali Bongo, a traditional ally of France.
According to the Élysée Palace, Macron’s stop in Libreville is intended to signal France’s “support” for the new Gabonese authorities, while also encouraging a return to constitutional order, economic reforms and efforts to rebuild public trust after years of political turmoil.
The tour will conclude in Angola, where Macron will take part in an EU–AU summit focused on resetting ties between Europe and Africa. Leaders are expected to discuss cooperation on peace and security, trade, infrastructure, and green development, including energy transition and climate resilience.
French officials say the trip is part of a broader effort to recast France’s role on the continent at a time of rising competition from other powers and growing scrutiny of Paris’s historic ties in Africa.
