Macron Rebukes China’s ‘Predatory’ Africa Strategy in Nairobi Push
Nairobi-French President Emmanuel Macron defended Europe’s role in Africa during a visit to Nairobi on Monday, contrasting European engagement with what he described as China’s “predatory” economic strategy across the continent as France seeks to rebuild strained ties with African nations.
Speaking in interviews with Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report during a two-day economic summit in Nairobi, Macron said Europe remained committed to multilateralism, the rule of law and open trade while global powers increasingly pursued confrontational economic policies.
“Europe defends the international order, effective multilateralism, the rule of law, free and open trade,” Macron said, drawing a distinction between European policy and the intensifying trade rivalry between the United States and China.
The French leader accused China of creating economic dependencies through its control of critical minerals and rare earth supply chains, arguing that Beijing prioritizes domestic processing while limiting broader industrial development elsewhere.“China operates according to a predatory logic,” Macron said, adding that Europe instead aimed to build “a strategy of autonomy” shared between African and European economies.
Macron’s remarks come as France attempts to recalibrate its relationship with Africa after years of deteriorating influence in several former colonies, particularly in the Sahel region where anti-French sentiment and military coups have weakened Paris’ regional standing.
France withdrew troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger following military takeovers between 2020 and 2023 that brought juntas to power and led to demands for French forces to leave.Macron defended France’s former military deployments in the Sahel, saying French troops had operated there at the request of local governments to combat jihadist insurgencies.
“When our presence was no longer wanted after the coups, we left,” Macron said. “That wasn’t a humiliation but a logical response to a given situation.”Despite acknowledging the enduring legacy of colonialism, Macron argued that Africa’s current political and economic difficulties could not be attributed solely to European imperial history.
“We must not exonerate from all responsibility the seven decades that followed independence,” he said, urging African governments to strengthen governance and institutional accountability.Macron, who has previously described colonialism as a “crime against humanity,” has sought since taking office in 2017 to redefine France’s relationship with Africa through economic partnerships and reduced military dependence.
He also called for reforms to international financial systems aimed at expanding guarantees capable of attracting larger volumes of private investment into African economies.
“A new era is about to start,” Macron said, expressing confidence that the Sahel region would eventually return to democratic governance under elected civilian leadership.
