Emmanuel Macron received his Ivorian counterpart Alassane Ouattara on Friday, September 4, who recently announced his candidacy for a controversial third term in the presidential election on October 31, said the Elysee.
The two presidents had lunch together at the Elysee two weeks after the inauguration of Mr. Ouattara, 78, by his party.
Read also: Ivory Coast: stormy nomination for Ouattara
They were to discuss the Ivorian political situation and the crisis in Mali after the coup that overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta on August 18.
Emmanuel Macron has not publicly expressed himself on the electoral turnaround of Alassane Ouattara, who had first announced in March his decision to give up running for a third term.
Before changing his mind in August after the sudden death of his Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, whom he had invested as a candidate for his party.
The announcement of his candidacy provoked demonstrations which degenerated into violence which left some fifteen dead.
The 2016 Constitution limits presidential terms to two.
But supporters of Mr. Ouattara say that the change of Constitution has reset the counter to zero, while his opponents deem this candidacy unconstitutional.
The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) of Côte d'Ivoire announced Thursday that it had received 44 candidacy files, including those of former President Laurent Gbagbo, still in Belgium, and former rebel leader and former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, who resides in France.
France is worried about a rise in tension in Côte d'Ivoire ten years after the post-electoral crisis which left 3,000 dead after the refusal of outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo to recognize the victory of Alassane Ouattara.
