French President Emmanuel Macron has urged a major shift in how Africa is supported globally, calling for more investment-driven partnerships rather than traditional aid models.
Speaking at the University of Nairobi during the Africa Forward summit on Monday, Macron said Africa “needs investment to become more sovereign,” stressing that economic opportunity must replace dependency on aid.
Addressing African leaders and international delegates, he noted that past approaches where European leaders dictated solutions were outdated.
“Previously European chiefs would lecture African leaders on what they needed, but this is no longer what Africa needs or wants to hear.
“That’s just as well, because we, too, no longer have the means, if we’re being honest,” he said.
The French president also revisited long-standing debates on colonial history, saying he had previously condemned colonialism when he assumed office in 2017, but cautioned against attributing Africa’s present challenges solely to that era.
“We must not exonerate from all responsibility the seven decades that followed independence,” he said, urging African leaders to strengthen governance structures.
Macron maintained that France and other European countries were not “the predators of this century,” arguing instead that Europe continues to defend multilateralism and global trade systems.
“Europe defends the international order, effective multilateralism, the rule of law, free and open trade,” he was quoted as saying.
He contrasted this with rising global tensions, saying both the United States and China were increasingly engaged in strategic competition that ignores established rules.
On China’s influence in Africa, Macron alleged that Beijing operated “according to a predatory logic” in critical minerals, processing resources domestically and creating dependency elsewhere.
The French leader, who is co-hosting the summit with Kenya, said Europe is instead pursuing a strategy aimed at promoting autonomy for both continents through deeper economic cooperation.
He also called for reforms in global finance systems, particularly mechanisms that could guarantee private investment flows into African economies.
According to him, such reforms are essential to unlocking Africa’s development potential.
France has recently withdrawn troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger following coups in those countries.
Macron said France respected the decisions of those governments, even when led by military regimes.
“I’m convinced that we must let these states and their leaders, even putschists, chart their own course,” he said.
He added that France’s earlier military presence in the Sahel was at the invitation of those states to fight insurgency, and its withdrawal was “not a humiliation but a logical response.”
Looking ahead, Macron said he believed the Sahel region would eventually return to constitutional governance.
“A new era is about to start. The Sahel will one day regain normal governance, with leaders who genuinely care about their people, ” he said
The summit continues in Nairobi, bringing together African heads of state, policymakers and development partners to discuss investment, security and long-term economic transformation.
