French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Cameroon to kick off a tour in West Africa that includes three countries, aimed at reviving France's relationship with the continent in the post-colonial era. Macron was welcomed yesterday, Monday, at Yaoundé airport by Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute. A French presidential official stated that Macron's first trip outside Europe in his new term, which will also take him to Benin and Guinea-Bissau, is intended to demonstrate the French president's commitment to renewing relations with Africa.
Today, Tuesday, Macron is scheduled to hold talks with Cameroonian President Paul Biya, who is 89 years old and has ruled Cameroon with an iron fist for nearly 40 years. The two leaders are expected to discuss security in Cameroon, which has been experiencing ethnic violence and a separatist rebellion that has been fighting since 2017 for the independence of two English-speaking regions. Macron had previously irked the Cameroonian president in 2020 by announcing he would exert "maximum pressure" on him due to the "intolerable" violence in this West African nation.
Macron's visit comes at a time when France's influence, the former colonial power, is waning in Africa in the face of China, India, and Germany, especially in the economic and commercial sectors. After lunch with President Biya and his wife Chantal, Macron will meet with representatives of youth and civil society, and will conclude his day with a visit to "Noah Village," hosted by former tennis champion Yannick Noah, who leads an initiative to develop recreational centers in popular areas of Yaoundé.
On Wednesday, Macron will travel to Benin, which has faced deadly attacks from jihadists who infiltrated from the Sahel into Gulf of Guinea countries, and he will wrap up his tour on Thursday in Guinea-Bissau, which is plagued by political crises.
