Gabon's President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema begins a three-day official visit to France on Monday, underlining the close relationship between Paris and one of its few remaining key allies in Francophone Africa.
Issued on: 20/07/2026 - 14:58Modified: 20/07/2026 - 15:00
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Oligui Nguema, on his second official visit to France, will be joined by an 80-strong delegation of business chiefs and political officials. Gabon presidency spokesperson Théophane Nzame-Nze Biyoghe told reporters that the trip "will be an opportunity for the two heads of state... to follow up on the agreements signed in Libreville last November". The visit marks another step in Oligui's rehabilitation after he seized power in an August 2023 coup that ended more than five decades of rule by the Bongo family. He was elected president in April 2025 after winning nearly 95 percent of votes. "The sky has been cloudless between Libreville and Paris since the coup," political scientist Bergès Mietté of the International University of Libreville told RFI. "This visit confirms the idea that everything is going very well between the two states." Gabon votes on sweeping changes to its political future 'Path of continuity' Oligui visited Paris in May 2024 while serving as transitional president, before French President Emmanuel Macron travelled to Libreville in November 2025 to mark the end of the transition. Mietté said granting Oligui a state visit reflects French acceptance of Gabon's post-coup political order. French influence is waning in Francophone Africa, particularly in the Sahel region where the military-led governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have broken with Paris. Gabon, however, has maintained close ties with its former colonial power. "Since the coup, without any prior rupture, Gabon has clearly chosen a path of continuity with France," Mietté said.
