This is the first visit by a French President to Gabon since Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published on 03/01/2023 at 10:00 PM, updated on 03/02/2023 at 07:08 AM
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Libreville on Wednesday night, the first leg of a trip to Africa that Paris says is set to herald a new era in France-continent relations.
Emmanuel Macron, who landed in the Gabonese capital at 7:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. Paris time), immediately took the direction of the presidency for a dinner with his counterpart Ali Bongo Ondimba, an AFP journalist noted.
This content is not accessible to all.
Rise in anti-French resentment
The French leader will attend a summit on conservation of Congo Basin forests co-organized by France and Gabon on Thursday, in the presence of a dozen leaders from the region.
Emmanuel Macron is making his eighteenth trip to Africa since beginning his first five-year term in 2017. This is the first visit by a French President to Gabon since that of Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012) in 2010. The leader of the French state will then Travel to Angola, Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo by Saturday evening before returning to Paris on Sunday morning.
He begins this tour in Central Africa, two days after setting out from Paris in his former African “backyard” his African strategy for the next four years against a backdrop of growing resentment against France.
” READ ALSO – Smalto, State Affairs in Françafrique
Emmanuel Macron spoke of “humility” on Monday, reporting on an imminent reduction in the French military presence in Africa and calling for a new “balanced” and “responsible” partnership with the countries of the continent. During the Gabonese Presidency, on Wednesday evening, he will present Ali Bongo with a copy of an ethnomusicological collection of 900 sound sequences recorded in Gabon between 1954 – i.e. before independence – and 1970.
This collection, the originals of which are kept in the Museum of Arts and Traditions of Gabon, illustrates all aspects of Gabon’s oral and musical tradition, from songs and stories to religious ceremonies. It comes from the work of French songwriter Herbert Pepper, who composed the Anthem of Senegal, and ethnomusicologist Pierre Sallée.
This content is not accessible to all.