Dakar (Senegal), May 13: French President Emmanuel Macron is facing backlash after he interrupted a panel at the Africa Forward Summit in Kenya to demand silence from the audience.
Macron stormed the stage to rebuke audience members for what he called a “total lack of respect”, accusing them of disrupting speakers during a presentation by artists and young entrepreneurs. He had earlier described himself as a “Pan-Africanist” during a news conference.
The summit is meant to showcase France’s new policy for the continent — a shift from a former colonial power seen as dominating to what Paris describes as a partnership of equals.
On Tuesday, Macron announced a USD 27 billion investment into various sectors in Africa, including energy, artificial intelligence and agriculture.
Videos of Macron’s heated intervention on Monday quickly spread across social media, drawing a mix of mockery, praise and criticism.
Appearing visibly frustrated by the noise in the room, Macron abruptly walked onto the stage and asked the speaker to hand him the microphone, saying he would “restore order”.
Addressing the audience in English, he criticised attendees for talking over the speakers and creating disruptions during the session.
Some audience members applauded the intervention, but Macron also drew criticism over his response.
“Just imagine what would happen if an African leader did the same thing in America or Europe,” said Thierno Mbaye, a history student at a university in Senegal’s capital, Dakar.
“He acted like a schoolteacher scolding children,” Mbaye told The Associated Press.
The intervention also drew criticism in France.
“It’s stronger than him: as soon as he sets foot on the African continent, he can’t help but behave like a coloniser,” Danièle Obono, a lawmaker for the hard-left party France Unbowed, said in a post on X.
Diplomatic and military setbacks in West Africa
The Africa Forward Summit, which is set to close on Tuesday with a declaration that is expected to be signed by all 30 heads of state, comes amid a fallout between France and its former colonies, mostly in West Africa.
France has long maintained a colonial policy of economic, political and military sway dubbed Françafrique, which included keeping thousands of troops in the region it controlled.
After years of criticism from leaders and opposition parties in many West African countries over what they described as a demeaning and heavy-handed approach, France has withdrawn most of its troops from the region. It completed the withdrawal of troops from Senegal in July.
Macron had already faced a backlash ahead of the summit for claiming Sunday at news conference alongside Kenyan President William Ruto that “we are the true Pan-Africanists”.
“We believe that Africa is a continent, and that this continent has an enormous amount to build,” Macron said.
Pan-Africanism refers to an ideology seeking the unity of Africans and the elimination of colonialism. Given France’s colonial history across the continent, the remark went viral on social media and drew swift backlash.
“Pan Africanism is not a brand, Mr. Macron, neither is it a diplomatic posture,” Farida Nabourema, a Togolese human rights activist, said in an open letter on Monday.
“It is a political philosophy that said no to everything France spent three centuries saying yes to: slavery, colonialism and neocolonialism,” she added.
Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst at geopolitical risk consultancy Control Risks, said Macron is trying to distance France from its diplomatic and military setbacks in West Africa by turning to the east of the continent, signalling that its strategic priorities now follow where it finds goodwill.
She said Macron’s remarks were raising questions about whether France’s renewed engagement with Africa represented a genuine equal partnership or merely convenient rhetoric.
The French presidency and Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Paris will be respectful of each African country’s independence, Macron said on Tuesday, adding that “sovereignty and autonomy is shared, and your success is our success”.
Inauthentic or politically manipulated
Alioune Tine, founder of the Afrikajom Center think tank, said Macron’s remark might also be a subtle jab at Russia, which has replaced France as the main security partner in some West African countries.
“When Macron describes himself as the true’ pan-Africanist, it is also a subtle response to the pro-Russian pan-Africanist voices online, which French officials tend to view as inauthentic or politically manipulated,” Tine said.
He said relations between Western powers and African states are inherently paternalistic and France is no exception, but that Macron has shifted policy away from the colonial legacy through a more informal diplomatic style aimed at rebuilding trust.
According to an Ipsos survey conducted on behalf of the French Foreign Ministry in nine African countries ahead of the summit, 74 pr cent of respondents said they have a positive image of France. Support was highest in English-speaking countries and among respondents under 35.
Macron, who is the first French president born after the colonial era, had pledged after his first election in 2017 that he would reset French relations with Africa. (AP)
