French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot: 'In Africa, as elsewhere in the world, Russia has been largely defeated'

Jean-Noël Barrot, France's foreign minister, at the ministry in Paris, June 30, 2025. ED ALCOCK/MYOP FOR LE MONDE

The Africa Forward Summit 2026, co-hosted by France and Kenya, was held in the African country's capital of Nairobi on Monday, May 11, and Tuesday, May 12. Around 30 heads of state and government – as well as several thousand business leaders – attended, with €14 billion in French investment pledges for Africa announced.

In recent years, Paris has faced ruptures with Sahel countries and rising anti-French sentiment in French-speaking Africa. The French government, in turn, has sought to demonstrate the strength of its political and economic ties with the continent. France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told Le Monde that the summit was a success, highlighting renewed ties between Africa and France, and described Russia's "contribution" to Africa's development as "zero."

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