Emmanuel Macron visits Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau for the first time

French Head of State Emmanuel Macron is expected from July 25 to 28 in Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau. This first African tour since his re-election in April is placed under the sign of security: food and military.

This trip will notably focus on the food crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, the challenges of agricultural production and security issues, according to the Elysée. The French president had announced his desire to “rethink by autumn the whole (of the military devices of France) on the African continent, while the Barkhane anti-jihadist force is completing its departure from Mali. saying they want “less posed and less exposed devices”the president had deemed it to be a “strategic necessity”.

The first stage of this trip will be Cameroon, the leading economy in Central Africa. Emmanuel Macron will meet on July 25 with his counterpart, President Paul Biya, 89 years old, 40 of whom have been at the head of the country.“Emmanuel Macron is coming” headlines the Cameroonian daily Cameroon Grandstand in its July 22 edition. The newspaper points out that it is the “first stay” of the French leader “on Cameroonian soil” since joining the Elysée in 2017.

The possibilities of French investment in Cameroonian agriculture but also the challenges of the anti-jihadist fight in northern Cameroon will be discussed during this official visit.

The next day, the French president will travel to Benin. A first also for Emmanuel Macron. The north of this country is facing a multiplication of deadly attacks, while the jihadist threat extends from the Sahel to the countries of the Gulf of Guinea. Cotonou wants French support in terms of air support, intelligence and equipment, according to the Elysée. The website of the Beninese newspaper La Nouvelle Tribune indicates that the cases of opponents Reckya Madougou and Joël Aivo, in detention since 2021, will be discussed during the official visit. Similarly, the French delegation should visit the 26 royal treasures of Abomey returned by France.

Emmanuel Macron will end his visit to Guinea-Bissau, a small Portuguese-speaking West African country subscribed to political crises whose President Umaro Sissoco Embalo is preparing to take the helm of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) . France had condemned last February the attempted coup against the Bissau-Guinean regime. In October 2021, during the visit of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo to France, his French counterpart had already declared that his presence “(testified) of the renewal of the relationship between Paris and Bissau.