Macron concedes France has been displaced in Africa by China, Türkiye and the United States
At the closing of the 'Africa Forward' business forum on May 15, French President Emmanuel Macron said France had been 'shaken up in Africa' over the past 25 years and blamed decades of complacency and arrogance by French institutions and companies. He named China, Türkiye and the United States as the partners African states are turning to instead, calling those choices 'rational' economic decisions, and urged a 'conceptual revolution' away from the donor-recipient model toward co-investment and co-production.
French President Emmanuel Macron used the closing session of the 'Africa Forward' business forum on May 15 to concede that France had been 'shaken up in Africa' over the past 25 years, blaming what he described as decades of complacency and arrogance by French companies and administrations and naming China, Türkiye and the United States as the competitors now winning ground on the continent.
Macron said French firms and administrations had relied too heavily on historical ties with African countries and failed to remain competitive. 'They believed there was a reserved sphere where being French meant everything was automatically open,' he told the forum, describing the loss of position as 'normal' and even a positive correction.
African states, Macron argued, were making rational economic choices by turning to more competitive partners, and he singled out the growing role of Beijing and Ankara on the continent. He added that Africa no longer accepts a model based solely on aid or one in which outside powers dictate solutions for African markets.
Macron called for what he described as a 'conceptual revolution', urging France to abandon a 'vertical logic' of providing aid in favour of a relationship of equality and partnership centred on 'co-investing, co-producing and co-inventing' with African nations. He underlined Africa's economic potential, noting that the continent's growth has surpassed that of Southeast Asia in recent years.