Coming to power having promised to rebuild the relationship between France and its former colonies, Emmanuel Macron had to face a series of crises, particularly in the Sahel region. In the English-speaking part of the continent, Paris struggled to find its place.
As is often the case during his very frequent trips to Africa, Emmanuel Macron appeared happy on Sunday, May 10, as he landed in Nairobi. Moments later, he was still smiling as he embraced his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto. "I've seen him leave for this battered continent many times and return reinvigorated," recalled Franck Paris, a former classmate of the French president at the National School of Administration.
After witnessing his first steps on the continent during an internship at the French embassy in Nigeria in 2002, he went on to serve for six years as the president's influential Africa adviser (2017-2023). On average, he takes two trips to Africa each year, and has visited around 20 countries since coming to power – no previous French president ever traveled to the continent so much. "He loves the energy, the creativity, the optimism there. It's a breath of fresh air when, elsewhere, you're caught up in the whirlwind of French politics," continued the former occupant of the spacious ground-floor office at the Elysée.
Yet, in Africa as well, this nearly decade-long period has been tumultuous for the French president. Macron came to power promising to overhaul the relationship between France and its former colonies. But he has rarely been able to act as he intended, constantly pulled back by a reality of crises, misunderstandings, frustrations and setbacks. "Despite himself, Emmanuel Macron was plunged into a storm," said Cameroonian philosopher Achille Mbembe, who founded the Foundation for Innovation in Democracy, a Johannesburg-based organization supporting democratic innovation in Africa, together with the French president.
