NAIROBI, Kenya — French President Emmanuel Macron is leading a diplomatic push to reshape his country’s relationships across Africa during a groundbreaking summit that kicked off Monday in Kenya, coinciding with France’s complete military pullout from West African nations that many view as a sign of waning French influence across the continent.
The French government is using the two-day Africa Forward Summit, which it is jointly hosting, to promote what officials describe as a fresh approach to African relations that emphasizes English-speaking nations and establishes what Paris terms a “partnership of equals.” France’s recent defense pact with Kenya exemplifies this new strategic direction.
For decades, France has exercised substantial economic, political and military control over its former colonies through a system known as Françafrique, which involved deploying thousands of soldiers throughout the region. However, following sustained criticism from African leaders and opposition movements who characterized France’s approach as patronizing and authoritarian, the French government has been compelled to remove the majority of these forces.
This gathering marks France’s inaugural summit held in an English-speaking African nation and will welcome over 30 heads of state and government representatives, including leaders from French-speaking countries. Upon his Sunday arrival, President Macron stated that while France might have disagreements with West African governments, it “never disagrees with the people.”
Kenya’s recently approved defense pact with France has drawn criticism from advocacy organizations who argue it provides excessive legal immunity to French military personnel under local law — a contentious matter in a nation where a comparable arrangement with the United Kingdom has resulted in numerous difficult-to-prosecute offenses against local residents.
During a period when numerous African countries, especially those in the Sahel region, are limiting or removing foreign military operations as part of what they describe as efforts to restore their independence, Kenya is welcoming an expanding international military presence.
The Kenya-France Defense Cooperation Agreement received signatures on October 29, 2025, from Kenya’s Defense Minister Soipan Tuya and French Ambassador to Kenya Arnaud Suquet, with parliamentary approval following on April 8. During that same month, lawmakers also approved defense partnerships with several nations including the Czech Republic, China and Italy.
While supporting the defense agreements, parliament defense committee chair Nelson Koech explained that Kenya’s partnerships with militarily advanced nations provide training opportunities and intelligence-sharing capabilities that will strengthen the country’s defense capabilities.
“These agreements were not a ‘surrender of sovereignty,’” Koech stated, noting that more recent pacts ensure foreign military personnel will face trial in Kenya if accused of serious offenses such as murder.
One month before the summit’s start, approximately 800 French soldiers arrived in Kenya via naval vessel.
The agreement provides visiting French forces with primary legal authority over their personnel for duty-related violations, mirroring extensive legal protections in previous UK agreements that protected British soldiers from Kenyan judicial proceedings during controversies including the 2012 killing of a young woman named Agnes Wanjiru and the fatal 2021 Lolldaiga ranch fire.
A British soldier faces extradition after Kenyan courts determined he must answer for the 2012 death of Wanjiru, who was last observed alive with him near British military training facilities in Nanyuki, central Kenya.
