Emmanuel Macron will travel from March 1 to 5 to four Central African countries for a summit devoted to the protection of equatorial forests and to strengthen bilateral ties in a sphere of influence increasingly disputed by Russia and China.
In Libreville, Gabon, on March 1 and 2, he will participate in the One Forest Summit dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the forests of the Congo River basin, the Elysée announced on Thursday February 23.
With 220 million hectares of forest, the Congo Basin represents the second largest forest area and the second ecological lung of the planet after the Amazon across several countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon in particular).
From Africa to Brazil and Southeast Asia, these forests are now threatened by agricultural and industrial overexploitation and in some cases oil production.
Intensify relations with non-French-speaking countries
Emmanuel Macron, who wishes to intensify relations with the English-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries of the continent, will then travel to Luanda on March 2 to launch a Franco-Angolan production partnership in agriculture.
He will continue his tour in Brazzaville, Congo, on March 2, then in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on March 3 and 4.
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In Kinshasa, the trip will be devoted to "
deepening the Franco-Congolese relationship in the fields of education, health, research, culture and defence
", indicated the French presidency.
This tour comes at a time when the influence of France is being shaken up by Russia and the group of Russian mercenaries Wagner in French-speaking Africa, from Mali to the Central African Republic.
In July, Emmanuel Macron, who wants to make Africa one of the priorities of his second five-year term, toured Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau.
Pointing to the war in Ukraine, he then accused Russia of being "
one of the last colonial imperial powers
" and of waging a new form of "
hybrid warfare
" in the world.
A number of countries in the South, particularly in Africa, anxious to preserve their interests and considering that this war is not theirs, have refused to take a position on the Russian offensive that has been underway for a year now in Ukraine.