Nothing represents the humiliation France is experiencing in Africa these days better than the Africa Forward Conference, a two-day event which—for the first time in its 50-year history—was forced to hold its activities in English-speaking Nairobi, Kenya on Monday, May 11. As Reuters graciously told their readers, France was currently “confronting rising anti-French sentiment,” in western Africa, which it then spent a full paragraph expounding on.
Even the “choice” of Nairobi may not have been objective, with Reuters highlighting the fact that France—signaling a possible quid pro quo—had invited Kenya’s President William Ruto to the G7 summit being held in June, and hosted by France.