This was more of an invitation than a summons – unlike in December 2019 when France's President Emmanuel Macron called five Sahelian leaders (four democratically elected at the time) to the air base in Pau near the Pyrénées to explain rising anti-French sentiment (AC Vol 60 No 25 In search of allies)...

Since then France Britain and Spain as well as a handful of prominent African states including Ghana and Kenya have also backed Morocco's regional autonomy plans for Western Sahara (AC Vol 65 No 16 Emmanuel Macron's Saharan mystery)...

President Emmanuel Macron has warned about Moscow's military diplomatic and social media campaigns undermining French officials in Africa...

Leadership succession and regional stability were set to dominate the informal talks between Côte d'Ivoire's President Alassane Dramane Ouattara and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris on 16 July...

French President Emmanuel Macron and Von der Leyen have also called for debt reform – but their public stance is belied by their officials' discreet efforts to keep the system as it is...

Two more sharp reminders of the cultural and political realities have jolted President Emmanuel Macron as he struggles to reshape France's relations with Africa which have reached a nadir under his presidency...

It could mean curtains for the roadmap Touadéra and President Emmanuel Macron agreed in Libreville in March 2023 (AC Vol 64 No 7 Seeking a way out of Kremlin's embrace)...

Both they and President Emmanuel Macron want retribution for the way their exit was decided and announced...

This was the background to President Emmanuel Macron's attempt to reconcile with Touadéra at their summit in Paris in August last year which was mostly about repairing Macron's damaged ego and giving further room to Paul Kagame's continental ambitions...