France launches push to reclaim African market share as Macron orders new strategy

Speaking to French ambassadors in Paris, Macron said partnerships with African economies must become a core pillar of France’s growth strategy, spanning entrepreneurship, finance and the role of the diaspora, according to Bloomberg.

“There is a timidity on the part of many that is no longer understandable,” Macron said. “I have asked the minister to really take an in-depth look at this. And basically, let’s bring more and more French groups to Africa.”

He added that this ambition will be discussed at a summit in May in Nairobi, to which India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have been invited, highlighting France’s intent to place Africa at the centre of its broader international economic outreach.

For Africa, Macron’s appeal reflects how sharply France’s influence has faded over the past decade.

French banks and corporations have pulled back from several African markets, even though France was still a major financial force on the continent just 15 years ago.

That retreat has created space for China, Gulf states, India and Russia to expand their economic and strategic footprints, offering African governments alternative sources of investment, financing and security partnerships.

France’s shrinking footprint across Africa

The shift is also political. In much of Francophone Africa, public and elite opinion has turned more critical of France’s post-colonial role, often described as Françafrique.

Countries across the Sahel have forced French troops to leave and have sought new security partners, while members of the Alliance of Sahel States have explicitly rejected Paris’s influence in favour of non-Western allies.

These moves reflect a wider push by African governments to diversify their external relationships and assert greater sovereignty over security, resources and economic policy.

France’s renewed push to re-engage economically with Africa contrasts sharply with its earlier stance on the continent’s security.

In July last year, France’s Minister Delegate for Francophone Affairs, Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, said the fallout from France’s military withdrawal from the Sahel “no longer concerns us,” speaking to Reuters during G20 development discussions in South Africa. He added that the worsening security situation since France’s exit was “a shame.”

The comments came shortly after France handed over its last major military base in the Sahel.

President Emmanuel Macron’s call to re-engage economically appears aimed at countering that trend by anchoring France’s Africa policy more firmly in trade, finance and entrepreneurship rather than military presence.

By pushing French firms to take more risks on the continent, Paris hopes to regain relevance in fast-growing African markets that are increasingly competitive and globally connected.