French President Emmanuel Macron continued his African tour in Gabon after participating in the final session of the G20 summit in Johannesburg.
This is the first state visit by the French president to Gabon since Brice Oligui Nguema took power in a coup that toppled the former leader, Ali Bongo.
In his speech, Oligui Nguema praised France for its support for the transition and for its support during the last election.
“Mr. President of the Republic, dear brothers, I wish to express my sincere gratitude for the multifaceted support you have provided to our country during our political transitions. This support contributed to the holding of free and transparent elections, which were praised by the international community, and to the gradual establishment of our institutions,” said Brice Oligui Nguema, President of Gabon.
Macron’s trip aims to revitalize France’s relationship with Africa, according to the Élysée Palace, and confirm a break from France’s colonial legacy—something Macron had spoken about early in his first term.
Now that the stages of the transition have all been respected in Gabon, France wishes to support the current momentum by defining new common priorities: economic, environmental, and the renewal of relationships through active youth involvement.
“I fully support what the President of the Republic has just said, namely that Africa can no longer be a continent solely focused on resource extraction. We must succeed in building new models, which requires energy investments and practice transformations, where we enhance and transform these resources in greater ways. Therefore, we support this win-win partnership, which respects the interests of all parties. We are doing so along a critical path that must also be coherent and competitive,” Macron said.
Gabon-France relations date back to colonial times. Libreville remains one of the countries where France has maintained a high presence even after the coup. Further cooperation now seeks to target the youths.
