French President Emmanuel Macron receives his Central African counterpart Faustin-Archange Touadéra on Wednesday (September 13th) against the backdrop of reviving bilateral relations after years of tension due to the rise of the Russian Wagner militia in this country. "This meeting comes in a context of resumption of dialogue and positive dynamics of bilateral relations," said Tuesday the Elysee. "It will be an opportunity to discuss the situation in the Central African Republic as well as regional issues," added the French presidency.
Touadéra close to Russia
President Touadéra spoke in favour of consolidating relations with the France, while explaining that his partnership with Russia, marked by the controversial presence of the Wagner militia in his country, was set to continue.
His critics have dubbed him "President Wagner", the name of the private Russian company whose hundreds of mercenaries landed in the Central African Republic in 2018 under the terms of a defense agreement signed with Russia. In late 2020, Touadéra, threatened by a rebel offensive on Bangui, called Moscow to the rescue and hundreds of other Russian mercenaries landed and quickly pushed the armed groups out of most of the territories they controlled.
The growing involvement of the Wagner group in the Central African Republic led the France to withdraw its last soldiers from the country at the end of 2022, against a backdrop of very deteriorated relations between Paris and Bangui.